Technopath Madness
by Kronium345
Summary: In the world of Remnant, Huntsmen and Huntresses have battled the forces of Grimm for years, using swords and guns as their arsenal. But what if they were introduced to something more... advanced. Enter Anthony Black, resident technopath, and watch as he kills Grimm, makes friends, and even finds love. If he's doesn't kill someone with his inventions, that is. OCxHarem
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Anthony Black was enjoying the cool night air as he was in Vale. He was walking back to his hotel, using his high-tech phone along the way. He was wearing a sort of mechanised suit that looked similar to armour, but more comfortable. He wore black jeans with an mechanised shirt **(A.N. - Similar to how Vision's chest looks like in the MCU)**.

He had headphones in his ear as he was listening to a rock song on his phone. His silver hair shone in the night as he walked. In his pocket was a capsule that contained his High-Frequency Blade, Eclipse Cutter **(A.N. - It looks exactly like the one Raiden uses in Metal Gear Solid)**. His hover shoes, one of his creations that he had made when he was a child, were on his feet **(A.N. - Like Shadow's from Sonic, only blue, black and white instead of white, red and gold)**.

Anthony had arrived in Vale the day before, but he needed to get some spare parts for his weapons and mechanised suit. Sure, he could use his Semblance to make the work faster, but there was no fun in that.

He wasn't eager to go to any bars to kill the time, since he wasn't eager to get drunk. Plus, he didn't want to go to one club in particular here, since he'd heard that a blonde-haired girl usually visited the place and trashed it. And he wasn't eager to experience that.

Anthony was dragged from his thoughts by the sound of glass breaking. As he looked down the road, he could see a young girl about the age of fifteen who was in a red hood. She was surrounded by several thugs with swords and guns.

Anthony sighed. He didn't really want to get involved in all of this mess. He was tired and just wanted to build his stuff in peace. As he walked discretely, he was hoping that the guards wouldn't be able to see him walk by.

His prayers weren't answered, however. As soon as he walked past one thug, he yelled out to his other friends. "Hey, look! We got ourselves a little witness. Get him!"

Anthony sighed. Things really weren't working his way. He noticed that the girl had pulled out a weapon of some kind from her lower back. He watched as it shifted and transformed into a giant scythe.

If it weren't for the situation that he was in, Anthony would be going gaga over the mechanical weapon. The mechanics, the craftsmanship, the-

Anthony slapped himself to get himself out of his fantasies.

Taking out his weapon, Anthony clicked the button on top of it and Eclipse Cutter was revealed in all her glory.

With his hover shoes activated, he skated towards where the young girl was, slicing and stabbing the thugs in non-lethal areas. He didn't want to be charged with murder, after all.

"Need a hand?" Anthony asked the girl casually, seeing her use her scythe to beat the thugs.

"Yeah, thanks," she said over the sound of steel clashing with steel.

Between the two of them they were making easy work of the thugs. Anthony slashed and defended while the girl slashed and dodged the attacks. Anthony noticed that the girl was quite fast. Must've been a Semblance or something.

"Are you a Huntsman?" the girl asked as she continued beating down the thugs.

"Nope. Just a normal guy passing through the neighbourhood. You?"

"No, me neither. Though I wish I could become one!"

"Aren't you excitable?" Anthony asked, smirking. As they dealt with the bow unconscious thugs, a voice rang out through the air.

"Isn't it past your bed time, kiddies?" a man with funny looking red hair. He was wearing a hat and swinging a walking cane around. Anthony could tell that that wasn't a normal cane, though. His Semblance told him otherwise.

"Shouldn't you be in an old folk's home, old man?" Anthony responded back sarcastically. The girl beside him giggled at the comeback.

The man glared at the two of them. Then he smirked. "Well, as fun as it would be to play around with you two, I do have a schedule to keep. So I must bid you children a good night," he said cheerfully. And then he swiftly draws his cane back up at them and fires a fiery projectile towards them.

Both Anthony and the girl roll out of the way of the attack, only to spot the man fleeing up a fire escape.

"We have to stop him," the girl insisted as she ran after the criminal.

"I guess I'm involved, now," Anthony muttered. Why the hell did he get wrapped up into this? He ran after the girl.

Both teens quickly climbed up the fire escape and got on top of the roof tops.

As the pair ran over the roof tops they spotted the man making his way into a Bullhead.

As they ran up to him, the man threw a Dust crystal at the pair and fired upon it, which caused a massive explosion that shook the building that they stood on beneath their feet.

They might have been seriously hurt or worse (well, except Anthony, who was already coming up with a contingency plan), they were saved by an older blonde woman who had swooped in at the last second and produced a shield glyph.

As Anthony looked upon the woman, he saw that she was wearing what looked like a teacher's outfit with a riding crop in her hands. Now that he took a better look at her, he could see that her blonde hair was almost platinum. She also had sharp green eyes that stood behind some glasses. She looked very beautiful for her age.

Anthony turned back to the Bullhead as it started to rise. It looked like the old man was getting away.

The blonde woman shot something from her riding crop towards the sky. It seemed to be a purple beam that spread across the sky. Instantly, black storm clouds appeared out of thin air. Thunder boomed within them.

The older woman started waving her crop like someone in charge of an orchestra. Immediately, hail-like energy beams came down from the sky and started hitting the Bullhead and giving it some damage. A few shards got embedded into the vehicle.

Instead of seeing the old man, he saw a pair of admittedly nice long legs belonging to a woman in a short red dress who came forward from the Bullhead. Her figure seemed to be obscured by the shadows inside the Bullhead. While he wasn't able to see her face, he was able to see her bright golden eyes staring at him before shifting over towards the blonde woman.

The mysterious woman waved her hand before fire shot from her palms towards the teacher-like woman, which was deflected by another shield glyph. Bringing her hand into a rising position, the ground underneath the woman cracked and glowed before exploding. The blond woman had enough awareness to jump back as fire erupted from the ground.

Anthony looked to the young girl beside him, who was staring at the scene in awe. Anthony couldn't blame her. The scene was amazing.

Using the broken debris in front of her to her advantage, the blonde woman constructed the shards to levitate, before forming into a purple makeshift spear. With a wave of her hand, she sent it towards the flying Bullhead. The mysterious woman in the red dress shot flames from her palms to shoot down the spear, but it kept reassembling.

The Bullhead veered right to avoid damage, but it was too slow. The spear hit one of the wings of the vehicle, making the woman stumble in the aircraft. The blonde woman instructed the spear to split and break into whip-like constructs of debris. Having enough, the mysterious woman raised her hand, and fire erupted from around her, destroying the debris and turning it into little sparks.

Wanting to pitch in, the girl next to him shifted her scythe into a sort of shotgun - which Anthony screamed in joy at mentally - and tried to shoot down the aircraft. But each shot was deflected by the woman. He didn't really want to intervene since he didn't want to get involved in the first place. It may have been a dick move to not help while the others were trying their hardest, but meh.

The woman waved her hand, and fiery circles appeared underneath them. Knowing what was about to happen, Anthony took out two metal discs and dropped them onto the ground. They quickly opened up into hover boards. Sweeping under their feet, Anthony controlled them mentally to carry the girl and woman out of the way while Anthony rolled away, avoiding the giant explosion from the underground attack.

The girl squeaked in surprise at the sudden movement while the older woman didn't react, though she did look at the board with wide eyes.

All three of them watched as the hatch of the Bullhead closed, the vision of the mysterious woman disappearing.

 **XXX**

"Let's begin with your name, young man," the woman who had introduced herself as Glynda Goodwitch. The two of them were in a solid grey room. Anthony was sitting at a wooden table while Glynda was standing up and facing him.

"My name is Anthony Black," Anthony replied calmly and evenly. He knew that this was going to happen. Why couldn't he just ignore the scene from before?

She frowned. She definitely looked like the serious/strict type.

"Well, what exactly were you doing chasing a wanted criminal over the rooftops in the middle of the night?"

"I was just walking and minding my own business when I saw that girl being attacked by a group of thugs." _And I wished I ignored them. I really did,_ he added mentally.

Glynda just shook her head and sighed.

"Well, as commendable as your actions were, they are NOT to be repeated. Everything seems pretty straightforward. We have already talked to Miss Rose and gotten her side of the story."

"And what happens, now?" Anthony asked.

"There is someone who would like to meet you," Glynda said. She stepped back to allow a man, who had stepped in quietly, to walked forward. He had silver hair and green eyes, like Anthony did. But his eyes looked more wizened and showed experience. He wore dark-tinted reading glasses and wore a sort of business suit with a green scarf on his neck. He was also carrying a cup of coffee in his hands. An odd combination.

The man nodded in greeting towards him. "Greetings, Anthony Black. I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. And I would like to invite a place at my school."

 **Boom! A new story! Out of nowhere! Woohoo!**

 **So it's RWBY this time. I wanted to do this because, frankly, I love RWBY. Which is probably the same reason I'd give for doing my other stories, but still.**

 **So another OC. This story was mainly done because of my love of Iron Man, Cyborg and Raiden. And elements from those characters will be seen in this story. The title 'Technopath Madness' will be put into play very soon.**

 **Short chapter, but please show this story some love. As usual, this is a harem story. Reason why is because... well, I'm a pervert. No shame in admitting that. And I love the girls in RWBY, so it's a given. Vote who you want to be in the harem, but the ones who are already in it are:**

 **Ruby**

 **Yang**

 **Weiss**

 **Blake**

 **The ones who are potentially in are:**

 **Nora**

 **Pyhrra**

 **Cinder**

 **And that's it so far. And, just because, I'll give you a little bio of my OC, because I'm nice like that.**

 **Name: Anthony (Tony) Black**

 **Age: 17**

 **Semblance: Technological Control (Like Cyborg)**

 **Sub-Semblance (developed through several use main Semblance): Limited Electrokinesis**

 **Weapons and Equipment: Eclipse Cutter (Muramasa Blade), two black and white Magnum Pistols, several rocket launchers, robotic suits (Iron Man suits) and Hover Shoes (so far)**

 **And that's all I'm giving you so far. The rest you'll just have to read on.**

 **Thanks. Read and Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"And why would I be interested in joining Beacon Academy?" Anthony asked curiously. He was offered a place at a school that he had no idea about, had no want to go to, and asked without any reason why. This headmaster wasn't doing a very good job at selling his school to him well.

The man kept on standing. From Anthony's point of view, the man had the look of a typical elder mentor-figure, though it was kind of ruined by his odd choice of clothing. Professor Ozpin, which was the guy's name, raised an eyebrow.

"You currently aren't attending any school, correct?" he asked.

Anthony shook his head. "Nope. I'm more of a traveller kind of guy. Don't stay in one place for too long."

"And do you intend to be a Huntsman one day?" Ozpin asked, taking a sip in his coffee after a moment.

Anthony thought about how to respond for a moment. "Yes. But not because I strive to be one. It just helps for my future career." He excelled in fighting, no doubt, but being a Huntsman wasn't particularly what he wanted in the end.

"Oh?" Ozpin sounded surprised, though his expression didn't really change all that much. "And what do you intend to become in the future?"

"It's not really a job. I just want to sell my inventions for a high profit so I can possibly open my own company in the future," Anthony answered honestly. Sure, it might not seem like much, but it was what he wanted and he was sticking with it.

"Ah, yes. Your inventions." Ozpin held up a Scroll that showcased him fighting the thugs with Eclipse Cutter, and then the image shifted towards when he threw his mini-hoverboards to save Goodwitch and that girl from before. "Am I correct to believe that your 'inventions' tie into your Semblance?"

"You'd be correct," Anthony said slowly. "It's Technopathy. I can control technology as I see fit."

"Hmmm. Fascinating." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee before he continued speaking. "That's quite a unique Semblance. And you say you want to open a company from selling your inventions? That's an interesting goal. Why don't you start your journey at Beacon?"

"Why are you so insistent at me joining your Academy?" Anthony asked with a raised eyebrow. Truth be told, he had no problem joining this 'Beacon', but this guy seemed insistent. For what reason, Anthony didn't know.

"It's because I like to see the accomplishments of the young achieved," Ozpin said simply. "And your goal is one that I would like to see achieved. Is that so wrong?"

Anthony thought to himself for a moment. The offer was good. He could be on a start to achieving his goal, he was getting a free pass into a school. It seemed to be looking good. "What's the catch?" he asked cautiously. He wasn't eager to sign something that he wasn't fully aware of yet.

"Nothing. No catch." Ozpin watched, as he drank his coffee, Anthony's eyes blinking in surprise. "There's no payment needed. You and Miss Rose are special cases. You will enter without any trouble at all."

Anthony continued blinking at that. Well, it was shaping to be a damn good deal. And it wasn't like he was doing much while he was on the run.

Anthony shrugged, a grin forming on his face. "Well, you convinced me. Where do I sign?"

 **XXX**

Anthony sighed as he relaxed in a chair in a flying Bullhead.

The previous day, he'd agreed to go to this Beacon school at the behest of Ozpin. The potential students were being carried to the school by a Bullhead.

Anthony could tell that the vehicle was one of the state-of-the-art models, with strong and sharp propellers. He could also feel the turboprop engines and how much pressure, power and weight they could hold and contain. He could also tell that this particular ship was using different levels of nitrogen running through it. This was all available to him through the use of his Semblance. It was a nifty thing to have.

Though, even if he was impressed by the model, he felt like he could tune this thing to make it much better and faster. Or better yet, he could've used one of his suits to fly to Beacon. It would've been much faster.

Alas, he didn't. He didn't want to reveal all of his skills at the start. Makes people underestimate him, which made them much easier to defeat.

Anthony heard commotion in front of him. He veered his head to see the girl that he had met last night - Rose something - chatting with a girl with, _ahem_ , exceptional assets. His eyes were initially drawn to her large chest, with her cleavage exposed, followed by looking at the rest of her appearance. She had long, flowing blonde hair that reached the end of her back. Her outfit was similar to that of a cowboy. She had a brownish jacket that exposed a bit of her midriff and left her arms bare. She was wearing a yellow shirt underneath, with a brown scarf around her neck. She wore biker shorts, along with a belt around her waist that held a small pouch. She wore fingerless gloves with large yellow bracelets - which were actually shotgun gauntlets, once Anthony looked at them properly - and wore boots on her feet. Overall, she seemed like the kind of girl who was flirtatious and went to parties most of the time.

Tapping the two earpieces in his ears, they sprouted out to reveal high-tech glasses with green lenses. Scanning the two girls silently - not creepily, mind you - his scanners indicated that the girls facial recognition was 55% identical. This meant that they were half-sisters. At least that was Anthony's guess.

Anthony could see that the two sisters were drastically different. Whereas the younger one looked a bit shy, the blonde one was loud and exuberant. Lovely combo.

Anthony heard the announcer tell the students about the criminal that he'd chased last night. Apparently the guy's name was Roman Torchwick. At least he didn't have to call him the old man with funny hair.

Then the TV holo-screen went back to a reporter who started talking about a riot involving the Faunus and how the White Fang interrupted it. Anthony didn't know why there was so much hate between humans and Faunus. Truth be told, he didn't particular care for the fights right for equality between them. They all breathed the same air and walked upon the same ground, so there was no need for violence between them. But that was just him. He was much better at dealing with machines than he was dealing with racial problems.

Then the news faded away to reveal the hologram image of Glynda Goodwitch, the woman he met from last night. She was essentially introducing them to Beacon. He honestly didn't want to deal with things that he'd already heard. Maybe he could build a mobile recorder device so that he wouldn't have to attend classes.

Anthony ignored the rest of the stuff that she was saying as every student started looking outside the window at Beacon Academy. Anthony just brought out his personal Scroll to start playing League of Legends on it **(A.N. - I'm bringing modern tablet, console and PC games into this fic. Because why not?)**. He did look up from his Scroll to see a blonde boy wearing armour about to puke. He ended up puking on the earlier blonde's shoes.

He chuckled at the sight. Looks like the kid was going to get bullied before he even got to school. He was already coming up with names for the kid. Was Barfy Blonde better than Vomit Boy?

 **XXX**

The Bullhead dropped the students at a platform, with Barfy Blonde heading to a bin and promptly throwing up in it.

As they headed towards Beacon, they were introduced to the full size of the school. Anthony had to admit; the school itself looked impressive.

Anthony carried a briefcase that he rolled behind him. The briefcase held most of his inventions. The reason is because most of them wouldn't fit on his body, so he had to make space-expansion technology (which the others at Atlas or in Vale would kill for) and fit all of his remaining stuff inside the case.

Quickly looking through his briefcase, he saw that he had everything there. He was ready to enter the school when a loud explosion sounded off from ahead.

Anthony looked up to see the girl that he met yesterday arguing with what looked to be a white-haired girl covered in soot. Anthony also saw a black-haired girl holding a vial of something. The black-haired girl had amber eyes, a hair bow that looked oddly similar to cat ears, wore mainly black with a white shirt on the front, and was holding a book in one hand. She kind of looked like a ninja with her garb.

The white-haired girl who was raging looked like a Schnee. Anthony would recognise the hair, the eye-colour, the arrogance, any of that anywhere. She dressed and acted like a typical spoilt rich brat. Anthony hadn't met her, but if she was a Schnee, it was a 89% chance that she would act arrogant. And he didn't need any scanner for that.

Wanting to avoid the confrontation, as he was socially awkward and an introvert, he took out his Scroll and assigned several tasks that he would work on later, like seeing who was going to be on his team, how he could organise his dorm the way he wanted to without interruptions, etc.

Finished with his tasks, he looked to see the Little Red Riding Hood copycat kneeling on the floor, looking depressed. Like a kicked puppy. Despite not caring much for people, Anthony in all good conscience couldn't leave her like that.

Sighing, he walked forward, holding his hand in help. The silver-eyed girl blinked as she looked at the offered hand.

"You know, when people offer their hand in help, the person in need usually takes the hand," Anthony said sarcastically.

The girl blinked again. "O-oh, right. Sorry." She took hold of his hand, with Anthony lifting her up with almost no effort due to her light frame.

"Hi. I'm Ruby," she said cheerfully. Surprising for one who blew up.

"Anthony," he said in greeting.

"Oh, yeah. You're the guy who helped me out yesterday! Thanks!" she said with a smile.

"Took you long enough to notice," Anthony said sarcastically. Ruby blinked at the response, shoulders slumping in depression. She must've had a not so good first start with the people before.

Anthony sighed. "Sorry. Just not very good with people."

Ruby beamed. "What a coincidence. Me too."

Taking a good look at her, he noticed that she was quite young. Probably a few years younger than most people here. Then again, Ozpin did let her in along with him with no need signing in.

"Uh, excuse me," a voice said behind them. Both teens turned to look at Barfy Blonde, who looked nervous.

"D-do you guys know where the main entrance to the school is?" he asked nervously.

Anthony was about to decline but Ruby volunteered for him. "Sure!"

Anthony's eyes twitched as he glared at her. Why the hell did she answer for him?

The blonde's eyes lit up. "Really? Thanks!"

And so the group walked to the entrance, with Anthony leading since he knew the way from looking at several students go to it. Meanwhile, Ruby and Barfy Blonde - or Jaune, as he introduced himself - chatted with each other.

"Look, Vomit Boy was the first thing that came into my mind," Ruby said as she chatted with Jaune.

"Oh yeah? How 'bout if I call you Crater Face?" he countered. Anthony snickered at that. Okay, that was a good one.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby retorted, blushing.

Then Jaune turned to Anthony. "So, uh, what's your name?"

"Anthony," Anthony replied, not eager to get into a conversation. Apparently Jaune didn't get the vibe.

"So, what made you come to Beacon?" he asked. Anthony shrugged. "Apparently, an old man who has an unhealthy interest in children, borderline paedophilia. Oh, and he also is our Headmaster."

Both Ruby and Jaune looked shocked as they heard what he said. Jaune looked like he just shat a brick while Ruby was waving her hands frantically and screaming. "Ew, ew, ew, ew!"

Anthony looked at them with a straight face for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. He held his stomach as he continued laughing, with both Jaune and Ruby looking at him, confused. When he finished laughing, Anthony looked at them with a deadpanned expression as they continued looking at him. Then he smiled. "Heh, your reactions were hilarious."

Ruby puffed her cheeks, looking adorable. "That was mean!"

"That was the point, Red," Anthony said with a smirk.

Ruby continued to puff her cheeks before she had a contemplative look on her face. Both boys looked at her curiously as Ruby looked like she was thinking of something.

"So... I got this thing," Ruby said as, in a flash, she brought out her gun-scythe.

Anthony looked at the thing critically for a moment. "Though it is a very nice weapon, I feel like your overcompensating for something. Maybe your lack of height?"

Ruby glared at him as she pointed her scythe at him. "I am not short!"

"You're overcompensating scythe says otherwise."

Ruby looked like she was about to argue, but instead stuttered with a blushing face. Anthony smirked as he looked at Jaune. "What about you, Barfy Blonde?"

"Oi," Jaune said, annoyed. "The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

Anthony looked at him with a deadpanned look. "Do they really?"

Jaune hesitated. "T-they will. In future."

"Mmmhmm. So, your weapon?"

"Oh." He took out a typical broadsword. "Well, I got this sword."

With his Semblance, Anthony was able to tell that there was no unique technological or mechanical quality to it. Just a regular sword. "Okay..."

"And I also got this shield," Jaune said as he took out a shield that was able to fold itself.

"Is that all?" Anthony asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-yeah," Jaune said, head lowered in shame.

"So what do you have, then?" Ruby said with an annoyed look on her face.

Shrugging, Anthony took out his hilt and in the blink of an eye, Eclipse Cutter was revealed in its true glory.

"Wooooah~" Ruby went starry-eyed as she looked at the weapon. "Omigod, omigod, omigod! Look at it! The sharpness, the sleek edge, the design, ooooooh!" She actually squealed as she beheld the weapon. Good to see she had an eye for appreciation.

"Woah!" Jaune yellled, jumping back. "Awesome blade!"

"Thanks," Anthony said with a smile as he looked at his baby.

"Who made your weapon?" Ruby asked, still starry-eyed.

"Made it myself," Anthony said proudly. "Took a lot of resources, but it was created."

"Oooooh~ That's so cool! C-can I see it?" she said, arms outstretched in a creepy grabbing motion.

"Uh..." Anthony was creeped out. He could understand the love of weaponry, but wasn't this a bit too much? "Oh, look, we're supposed to be at the main entrance hall immediately!" he called out suddenly, wanting to change the subject.

"Oh, you're right!" Jaune called out, alarmed. And so all three of them ran towards the main entrance hall.

 **XXX**

When the trio had arrived to the assembly hall they were immediately spotted by her sister and are waved over. Ruby quickly set to introduce Anthony and Jaune to her sister.

"Oh? So this is the knight in shining armour that saved my little sister last night," the blonde smirked to Anthony.

Anthony raised an eyebrow at that. "Uh... yeah. I did." Anthony put his hand forward for a hand shake. "Anthony Black."

"Yang Xiao Long," she replied, shaking his hand in return as she continued smirking. "From what Ruby told me, you protected her from a very dangerous attack. That's major brownie points in my book," Yang said in a playful tone, followed by a wink. "Maybe you deserve a little reward?"

Anthony's breath got caught in his throat as he blushed heavily at the teasing and imagery. "Uh, I..." Come on, Anthony! Say something!

"Maybe I could treat you to a night out in the town? I know a this great place we can go gets some drinks at. We can also go party, and see how well you can dance. What do you say?"

Anthony was able to regain his composure as he looked at her with a deadpanned look. "You're fucking with me, aren't you?"

"Maybe~" Yang said in a sing-song tone. "But watch your language. My sister is listening."

"Yang!" Ruby retorted, stomping her feet. "I'm a big girl! I can listen to that kind of stuff. I drink milk!"

"Doesn't really do much for your lack of height. Your overcompensating scythe not working for you?" Anthony retorted sarcastically, smirking.

Yang turned to Anthony with a mischievous smirk on her face. "Oh? So the shy boy does have a sense of humour? I couldn't tell by your tomato face."

"Yes, because the offer to dance while drunk, which could lead to hot, wild and passionate sex between the two of us doesn't make a normal person blush," he retorted back. Yang and Ruby blushed at the last part. Anthony smirked. "Aha! Not so funny when it happens to you, Blondie."

"S-shut up, Shy Guy," Yang responded back.

While still smirking, Anthony turned to Ruby. "I'm going to put my stuff away. See you around."

"Okay. Bye, Anthony!" she called as he left.

Call me Tony," Anthony called from behind. Then he left.

 **XXX**

After the headmaster's speech (in which he promptly ignored) Anthony made his way to a secluded area to set his sleeping bag down and and relax before he turned in for the night.

He brought out his headphones that connected to his Scroll as he wore a black vest with grey shorts, exposing his strong, lithe arms and muscled legs. The vest was also thin enough to allow his six pack to be slightly visible

Anthony took a moment to survey the assembly hall that was full of people.

His eyes fell on the arrogant Schnee, to the black-haired girl wearing a yukata and was also reading a book, to a red-haired girl that was stunningly beautiful. His eyes raked over her form - hey, he might be an introvert, but that didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate beauty - and he was very impressed by what he saw. And finally his eyes settled on what he would describe being his perfect girl. Gorgeous flowing red hair, lovely full hips, an impressive chest, and an overall perfectly toned body. She also had warm and tender green eyes. She seemed to be wearing a nightgown.

 _Damn_ , Anthony thought with a grin, liking what he saw.

She turned, feeling someone looking at her. Anthony quickly averted his gaze elsewhere, acting innocent. He turned his gaze to see Yang tossing and turning in her sleeping bag as she lay in the middle of the great hall, Ruby laying next to her. Anthony did snicker though at Jaune's choice of sleep clothes. Heh, now he was calling him PJ.

Sighing, he put his music to full max and started tinkering with something in his hand, ignoring the sounds of arguing that came from Yang's and Ruby's side of the room. Though he did grow annoyed when a candle that was providing light was blown out, disrupting his process of tinkering.

"Shit."

 **Finished. New story coming along well.**

 **Not much action here. Just an introduction to the characters, Beacon, etc. Pretty short, but meh.**

 **Anthony will act more like Tony in the comics as the story goes on, i.e. arrogant, playboyish, mad scientist-like, etc.**

 **His team will be a make-up of characters based off Captain America, Hulk and Thor. If you want to change the characters who're they're based off, vote and I'll see. Now all I need is to come up with a name for the team. Don't know how Oum, genius that he was, could come up with the names, despite sounding simple. Rest in peace, by the way.**

 **Next chapter will be the initiation and meeting of the OCs. Fun.**

 **As I keep saying this, know that I give my thanks to those who fav, fol, r & r the story. Shortened for my sake and yours.**

 **Read and Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

It was morning and Anthony was making his way to the locker room. On his way he overheard two girls talking. It was the hot redhead and snobbish white-haired girl from last night.

Wanting to 'converse', meaning flirt with the redhead, he saw that Jaune had made himself visible to the two. Sighing, Anthony knew that the boy was going to mess this up. He walked forward to meet the group.

"Hello there," Anthony chimed in in a polite but friendly voice. He noticed how the red haired girl seemed relieved to have someone else to talk too. "Who is this lovely lady?" he said to the redhead.

"Uh, hey Anthony. I-" Jaune made to say, but was Anthony interrupted him. "You snooze, you lose, Vomit Boy." Jaune, looking shocked at his new nickname, made to retort but Anthony ignored him, instead grinning at the redhead. "May I trouble you as to ask you your name, ma'am?"

"How do you not know who we are? What, do you live under a rock? And you're supposed to introduce yourself first when asking for a ladies name," the ice princess bristled. She seemed to not have liked being interrupted.

"My name is Pyrrha," the girl introduced as Pyrrha introduced with a smile.

"And I'm Anthony. Please, call me Tony," Anthony said with a charming smile.

"Hello?! Did you not hear what I just said?" the ice queen asked indignantly, stomping her feet.

Anthony turned from Pyrrha to adress the girl. "Do you mind? It's rude to interrupt people when they're talking, you know?"

The girl looked like she was going to yell in frustration and scream at him at the same time. Anthony had to hide a smirk at her expression.

"I won't ignore you! The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." Anthony had to try not to roll his eyes as Jaune talked with the white-haired girl. At least he took her attention elsewhere.

"So, Pyrrha, I was wondering whether you would like to team up with me. I'm sure that you are a very capable fighter." He looked at her figure, disguising it as assessing her posture and style when really he was trying to judge her B-W-H measurements. Something that he had the unique skill that wasn't related to his Semblance. 34C-28-36. Huh, not bad. " _Very_ capable."

"I would like that," she said with a smile, ignorant of Anthony's eyes raking over her form.

"Excuse me! I asked her first!" the white-haired girl interrupted _again_. What, Vomit Boy get rejected that fast?

"Well, I was here second. First is the worst, second is the best," he argued childishly, sticking his tongue out.

The girl's face lit up like a tomato. Her face contrasted with her whole theme, making Anthony chuckle. "Do you have _any_ idea who you're talking to? "I am Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. The largest dust provider in all of Remnant." She stated all of this proudly with a smug smile.

Anthony rolled his eyes. "Really? Thought I was talking to Elsa." Jaune's snicker at the retort had him smiling. Good that someone got his jokes. "I know that you're a Schnee. And I don't care. You could be the head of the your company and that won't mean jack shit to me. Because all I see is a whiny Ice Queen brat."

Weiss' face made it look like she swallowed a fish. Pyrrha, while trying to stifle her giggles, looked at him in a praising light. Jaune looked shocked.

"Y-you-"

"Yes, me. Already established who I am. Not interested in you, though. I'm interested in the hot Spartan redhead," Anthony said bluntly. Pyrrha stopped giggling and blushed. Taking her hand in his, he placed a small kiss on the front. " Ma jolie guerrière, permettez-moi s'il vous plaît de vous faire passer une merveilleuse nuit? (My pretty warrior, may you please allow me to treat you to a wonderful night?)"

Pyrrha's face was completely red while she was stuttering. Fortunately, or unfortunately in this case, Weiss chose that moment to ruin everything. "Come on Pyrrha, I thinks time to go. We've wasted enough time with all these riffraffs around here." She then stormed by him, bumping her shoulder into him.

Anthony resisted the urge to shock. Cock-blocking him and bumping into him, oh, he was going to ruin her life here at Beacon.

Anthony walked off, ignoring Jaune who was standing there all alone.

He sighed, wondering who was going to be on his team. He ended up sitting at a random table. He was about to take out his tablet when he was interrupted by someone.

"How dost thou fare?" a voice asked beside him. Anthony turned his head to look upon some interesting individuals. One of them, who Anthony assumed was the one that spoke, was a tall, large teen that could've been mistaken for a man in his mid-twenties. He had long flowing blond hair, stubble on his chin, and blue eyes. For clothing, he wore some sort of ancient chain mail that had four metal circles on his chest. He wore some kind of Viking skirt, complete with leggings and leather boots. Despite looking beefish, he looked quite handsome.

"Seriously, Thor. No one talks like that anymore," said another guy beside the newly revealed Thor. This guy had short, cropped blonde hair. He wore a sleeveless suit that was similar to a bodysuit, only his was more armoured. He had black combat boots, along with a large bow in his hand. The thing looked too heavy for someone to hold it, much less wield it. But the guy was able to manage it just fine. As evidence from his strong arms.

"Leave him alone, Clint. We've told him a hundred times, and it hasn't sunk into his brain yet," a meek, quiet voice said. Anthony turned to see another guy sitting with the group. This one was visually unimpressive, at least compared to the other two. He had glasses on his face, covering his brown eyes. His black hair was swept to one side. He wore a white shirt and dark blue pants. He also wore normal brown shoes. This guy didn't look strong, or buff, or carried a weapon with him. Anthony wondered what he could do. Or what his Semblance could do.

"It's fine," Anthony said to the one with the bow. He turned to the hulking blonde. "I took a little Shakespeare when I was younger. Thine express words of gratitude upon thyself. Thine name is Anthony Black **(A.N. - If it's wrong, I'm sorry. I literally couldn't write this myself properly if my life depended on it. Had to look it up and it's still shoddy. Going to be hard to right Zoe's speech in Arcane Cha- oops. Wrong continuity. Let's stay with this story).**

"You know I can speak normally, right?" the blonde said in a normal, baritone tone.

Anthony's eye twitched as he glared at him. "Then why the hell did you make me speak like an old-fashioned, out-of-date person?"

The blonde smiled. "Because it's fun."

Before Anthony could jump over the table and cut him in half, the meek guy stepped in. "Don't mind him. He does that to everyone he meets." He held his hand out in greeting. "I'm Robert Banner, but call me Bruce."

Anthony raised an eyebrow while shaking his offered hand. "Where did the 'Bruce come from?"

"It's my middle name. I prefer people saying that than 'Robert'."

"I can see why," Anthony grinned slightly. "The amount of bullying you could receive with that name."

"I know, right?" the blond with the bow agreed. He held out his hand in greeting. "Name's Clint Barton, but my friends call me 'Hawkeye'."

While shaking his hand, Anthony asked, "Guess your name refers to your skill with a bow."

"Got that right," Clint, or Hawkeye, responded. "My Semblance is 'Absolute Precision'. I can use any ranged weapon and shoot so accurately, without fail. Makes me the perfect archer."

Anthony raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't anyone do that without a Semblance? Not that impressive."

Hawkeye smirked knowingly. "Maybe so, but no normal person can be absolutely precise in their shots. Except for me."

Anthony shrugged. "If you say so. Mines 'Technopathy'. I can control technology as I see fit and use it in ways only I can."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating. May I see it?"

Anthony made to answer, but was interrupted by the loudspeaker that announced that it was time for initiation.

"Maybe later," Anthony answered, heading towards the doorway. "If we become partners, that is. See ya!"

Anthony was able to see the group wave back before he went for initiation.

 **XXX**

All of the students stood on pads that overlooked a large and dense forest. Ozpin and Goodwitch stood to one side, with Ozpin explaining what was going on.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

After he spoke, Goodwitch stepped forward to speak. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

Anthony heard Ruby whine a little, like a puppy. He snickered silently.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon," Ozpin took over. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well with. That being said, the first person with whom you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Anthony could hear imaginary glass break around Ruby's figure. The other students were murmuring among themselves nervously. Anthony had no problem. He could use his scanners to find the person that he wanted to when he landed, so it was no big deal. Maybe he could team up with one of the members he'd met before.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path."

"Honestly, Prof. You had me at opposition," Anthony said cockily. He smirked. "Bring it on."

Ozpin smirked at hearing his reply. "Such confidence in one so young. I hope it will not be your downfall."

Anthony scoffed. "Hasn't failed for me before. Don't see why it should now."

Ozpin grinned lightly. "Well, then. We shall see. You will be monitored and be graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir..." Jaune asked, awkwardly raising her hand up.

"Good," Ozpin said, ignoring Jaune completely. "Now, take your positions."

Anthony withheld a snicker as he got into his position on his launching pad. Everyone else did the same, except for Jaune, who futilely kept asking for his question.

First, Weiss was launched, followed by other students. Then it was Yang's turn, who winked at both him and Ruby, before putting on some sunglasses and being launched. She whooped with glee as she flew. Least she had style.

Ruby was launched next, followed by Jaune who was launched mid-speech. Finally, Anthony was launched into the air, and he let out a loud "Boo-yah!" as he flew into the air.

Soaring, he activated the rocket jet boosters on his legs mentally. With a whoop, he shot forward in the sky, his other pieces of armour activating so that he would be protected from the force in which he was flying at. Doing a barrel roll, he twisted and turned as he flew.

Lowering his altitude, he saw several tree branches in his way. Anthony performed several acrobatic manouvers that allowed him to dodge each one, whistling as he did so. Seeing a clearing, Anthony dismissed his rocket jet boosters, Anthony was suspended in the air for a moment before gravity did its work, pulling him towards the floor. Performing several flips, he landed on the ground in a crouch, one fist on the ground and his other arm in the air **(A.N. - Iron Man landing pose)**.

Mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done, Anthony quickly activated his scanners, scanning the location of the Emerald Forest in search for his desired partner. While he would love to team up with Pyrrha, she already had a partner in the form of Jaune. Shit. So he decided to team up with his next best pick.

Briskly walking around the area, he brought out Eclipse Cutter in a flash, slashing at any unwanted Grimm coming his way or direction. Several Beowulf and Ursa Major made their way towards him, eager to prey on him. They were severely disappointed.

Several minutes later, Anthony moved the bushes out of his way to see Thor brandishing quite a small, but nevertheless powerful, hammer and fighting off against several Grimm that were attacking him. And he seemed to be handling himself with ease. He swung his hammer down upon a Grimm trying to sneak up on him, the hammer crushing its skull and causing it to disappear into darkness.

"You shall not succeed, foul beast!" Thor bellowed out. "Have at thee!" Throwing his hammer forward, the weapon sailed past several Grimm, pushing and crushing its way past the monsters. Holding out his hand, Thor seemed to somehow be able to call back his hammer into his hand.

Seeing all the Grimm destroyed, Anthony decided to step in. He clapped his hands jokingly, alerting Thor of his presence. "Bravo," he called out. "Excellent show. Simply marvellous."

"Anthony Black," he greeted, lowering his hammer. "It is great to see you."

"Likewise," Anthony nodded. "So I guess we're partners."

"Indeed," Thor replied, holding his hand out towards him. "Let us work together to achieve greatness."

"Let's hope so," Anthony responded, stepping forward and shaking Thor's hand. He withheld a wince as his hand was almost crushed in Thor's stronger grip. "Goddamn. Do you wrestle Grimm for sport?"

Thor grinned widely. "If only." Thor released his grip from Anthony's now slightly crushed hand. "Come, Man of Machines. Let us finish this task while facing these Grimm!"

"Be right with you," Anthony muttered, cradling his broken hand. "Man of Machines...?"

As the two partners walked through the forest, they made slight conversation while they battled with several Grimm. Apparently, Thor's real name was Valhalla n'Aesir, loosely translating into 'Warrior of Valhalla'. Thor's people were a warrior-like tribe that lived outside the big-time settlements like Mistral and Vale and instead lived far away. The strongest of his people, Thor himself, wanted to leave the village to make a name for himself and his people. His father Odin, the leader of his people, sent him out for this specific task. Due to his valour and bravery in this task, Valhalla n'Aesir was christened 'Thor', named after an ancient god of thunder. Proof of this was his wielding Mjölnir, the hammer in his hand. The hammer was attributed to the power of thunder, which tied into Thor's Semblance, which was 'Weather Manipulation', however he was much better at wielding lightning and thunder.

Anthony was in awe of Thor's Semblance. Sure, he'd seen some powerful stuff, but to be able to manipulate the weather? That was just plain hax. It was a damn good thing that he teamed up with the big guy. Plus, he was impressed that he was willing to become a Huntsman for his people.

"Hey. I never got to ask. What's Bruce's Semblance? I never got around asking about it?" Anthony asked, curious. Thor had 'Weather Manipulation', Hawkeye had 'Absolute Precision'. He wondered what Bruce had?

Thor didn't answer, though he did smile. "Let's just say that Bruce's Semblance is very... destructive. Trust me, you'll know when you find it."

Anthony looked like he was going to ask more questions, but was interrupted by the arrival of more Grimm.

Wanting to perform a little friendly competition, Anthony turned to Thor. "Bet I could kill more than you can."

Thor grinned savagely. "I accept your challenge, Anthony Black. Let us battle!"

"Agreed!" Anthony responded, taking out Eclipse Cutter and hacking into Grimm, Thor joining in the fun by smashing the ground and unleashing lightning.

 **XXX**

Yang, who was partnered with Blake, had reached the northern end of the forest, which looked like an abandoned graveyard.

"Think this is the place?" Yang asked her partner, who didn't respond. Instead, the ninja-themed girl made her way to the site, Yang deciding to follow her.

When they reached the centre, they were greeted by the sight of several chess pieces of different sizes and colours placed on alters.

"Chess pieces?" Blake asked aloud in confusion, inspecting a particular one.

"Some of them are missing," Yang commented. "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

"Well, I guess we should pick one," Blake said.

As Yang looked at the pieces, she took notice of a gold horse-shaped one. "How about a cute little pony?" Yang asked enthusiastically, picking up the piece.

Smiling, Blake shrugged. "Sure."

Walking towards each other and meeting in the centre, Yang commented, "Well, that wasn't too hard."

"Well, it's not like this place was very difficult to find," Blake spoke.

Suddenly, both of them were able to hear a loud girlish-like shriek.

"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang commented, worried. "Blake, did you hear that? What should we do?"

Blake wasn't able to comment as both girls heard a loud scream above them. They looked up to see Ruby dropping from the sky for some reason, waving her arms frantically.

She was just about to land when suddenly Jaune, out of nowhere, slammed into her from sideways, launching both of them into the large bush of some trees. Yang and Blake just looked at the scene with a question mark over their heads.

Ruby was disorientated from her flight and collision, before she shook the dizziness out of herself. "What was that?" she asked herself. Hearing someone clear their throat, Ruby looked up from her position to see Jaune hanging upside down from a branch. "Hey Ruby," he said awkwardly.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked Yang, surprised at the events that just took place.

"I-" Yang started to say, before she was interrupted by a loud roar. Both Blake and Yang looked to an undergrowth of leaves and bushes from where they heard the sound, only for it swiped away by a... green giant.

The giant was massive, easily taller and bigger than any Grimm the girls had seen. His stature was made of pure muscle, his body ripped to the extreme. The monster had ratty black hair and green eyes that were filled with fury. He had no article of clothing, apart from some black shorts on his lower body.

If that wasn't odd enough, there was a blonde guy dressed in a combat suit hanging around the giant's neck. He was also holding a bow and quiver. "H-Hey Hulk! Slow down, buddy! You don't want to hurt anyone! Mainly me!"

The green giant didn't say anything but instead chose to roar in anger, though at what, the girls weren't sure. It became clear when, a few seconds later, an Ursa Major leaped out of the undergrowth, snarling at the green giant. But before it could pounce on anyone, Hulk - as that was what the blonde guy had called him - roared in challenged and struck a giant fist out, nailing the Grimm in its bony face. There was a loud crack, as the Grimm's neck was dislocated from its original position. All of this happened in only a few seconds, before the Grimm was launched backwards at extreme speeds, hitting several trees and bushes behind it before it disappeared in shadows.

Both girls gawked at the scene that just played out before them. "D-did a green giant just suddenly appear and kill a relatively powerful Grimm in one blow?" Blake, the normally stoic girl, asked in fear and awe.

"I-I..." Yang stammered, also in shock, before she was interrupted again by several trees being cut down by Anthony's blade.

"39. I win!" Anthony retorted smugly.

"Please. The last one fell by my hammer! I won!" Thor shouted out.

"The hell you did! I killed that last Grimm and you know it!"

"Nay, you lying cur! Oh, hello Hulk," Thor interrupted his arguing to greet the green giant. Hulk grunted in greeting.

"What the fuck is a cur you Viking ass- The fuck?!" Anthony exclaimed loudly upon seeing Hulk/ He made to attack but Thor quickly stopped him.

"Wait! Do not attack! That is Bruce!" Thor said quickly.

Anthony turned to Thor with an incredulous expression. "I don't know if the muscles on you took away most of your eyesight, but Bruce is a guy. Who's skin is not green. And have muscles larger than you."

"There is no one with muscles larger than me," Thor scoffed. "And that is Bruce. Or to be exact, his Semblance."

Anthony looked at the green giant. He waved slightly, getting Hulk to nod. "What Semblance allows you to turn into that?" Anthony asked incredulously.

"Yeah. This is Bruce's 'Odikinetic Metamorphosis'. Or simply him 'Hulking' out," Hawkeye explained. "The Big Guy is called the Hulk."

"... Good to know," Anthony commented, still shocked.

"Am I the only one shocked to see a green giant that appeared out of nowhere?!" Yang exclaimed loudly. How the hell were they fine with seeing a scary green giant?!

"Oh, hi Yang," Anthony waved in her direction, getting a shaky wave back. "I'm just as shocked as you. But I'm quickly getting over it."

"How can you - well, hello ~" Yang stopped her rant to purr at seeing Thor. She looked him from head to toe, paying careful detail to his muscles. "Who's the tall Viking god?"

Thor looked smug, whereas Anthony pouted. "Yang, how could you?" he mock wailed. "After all that teasing, you whispering sweet nothings into my ear, all those promises, you ditch me for the next guy that you see? I thought we had something!"

Yang wilted under the accusing looks from everyone - even the Hulk - and stuttered. "T-That d-didn't-"

The sound of broken trees interrupted her speech. Everyone looked to see a giant Grimm shaking its body all over the place, getting shocked by lightning. "Yee-haw!" a girl exclaimed loudly. The Grimm collapsed onto the ground in a heap, presumably. "Aw," the girl pouted, popping up beside it. "It's broken." She suddenly started whizzing around and inspecting it. The girl seemed to be wearing a dress with a white top and a pink skirt, with an small opening in the shape of a heart in the middle of it. Held in her hand was a giant hammer with a long handle. The girl had orange hair, pinkish sneakers and green eyes.

Walking behind the Grimm was a guy. He had long black hair with a pink highlight in it, and wore a green shirt with with a black and gold line. He also wore white pants and held two odd-looking pistols with blades at the ends as weapons.

He also seemed to be panting heavily, hands on his knees. "Nora!" he panted. "Please... don't ever do that again." He looked up to see he was talking to air. Frantically, he looked around for the missing girl.

"Oooh," Nora spoke, inspecting a gold chess piece. She picked it up, holding up triumphantly. "I'm queen of the castle ~" she sang, confusing the others heavily.

"Nora!" the guy exclaimed, breaking the girl out of her song. She giggled, the piece on top of her head. "Coming, Ren," she said sheepishly. She skipped happily towards the boy.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked, getting really confused at all of this.

"I-" Yang made to speak, but was interrupted _again_ by the sound of falling trees. All of the teens looked to see Pyrrha running from a scorpion-like Grimm.

"That's a new one," Anthony commented, seeing the scene play out.

The Grimm made to strike, but Pyrrha managed to roll out of the way in time. She continued running, calling out the name of her partner. "Jaune?"

"Pyrrha?!" Jaune responded from on top of a branch.

"Oh, hey Vomit Boy!" Anthony called out, waving to the hanging blonde.

Ruby appeared, managing to perform a roll as she landed. "Ruby?" Yang called her sister's name, shocked.

Spreading her arms, Ruby greeted her sister. "Yang!" Before the two could embrace, Nora appeared between the two, shocking them. "Nora!" she called out, saying her own name.

"Did she run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her trail?" Blake asked no one in particular.

"So that's what that thing is called," Anthony said, now happy.

"Such a disgusting creature! We must kill it!" Thor exclaimed loudly, raising Mjölnir in the air. Bruce, or Hulk, roared in agreement.

Yang apparently had enough, because she suddenly burst into flames, eyes red. "I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out just for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

Yang panted as everyone waited for those two seconds. "Damn, Sunshine. Didn't think you'd go Super Saiyan," Anthony muttered, a little shocked at what happened. How the hell did she manipulate fire just now?

Ruby tapped her sister's shoulder. "Um, Yang...," she muttered, getting her sister to huff and look up in the direction Ruby was looking at.

Everyone looked up to see Weiss struggling to hold onto a flying Grimm. "How could you leave me?" she exclaimed somewhat dramatically, still holding onto the Grimm.

"I said 'jump'," Ruby spoke out in response to her words.

"She's going to fall," Yang commented.

"She'll be fine," Ruby assured.

"Hope she goes 'splat'," Anthony spoke.

"Oooh! Like a pancake!" Nora exclaimed excitedly, waving her hands.

"Uh, yeah. Exactly like that," Anthony agreed.

"She's falling," Ren spoke in a deadpanned tone.

"We must save her," Thor said, making to move when Anthony held a hand in front of him. "No, no. She'll be fine. She's the 'heiress of the Schnee Dust Company'. She'll be fine."

Blake turned to Anthony. "Don't you feel terrible about wishing her bad like that?"

"Meh, I'll get over it," Anthony shrugged. "Besides, I don't see any of you making an attempt to save her."

Blake had to concede to that. No one particularly like the girl, for one reason or another.

However, one brave (and questionably foolish) boy decided to play the hero. That being Jaune. He balanced himself on the branch that he was standing on, and then jumped. Surprisingly, he managed to catch her. For some reason, the image was slowed down for a moment, allowing Jaune to say, "Just dropping in."

Seeing this, Anthony turned to look at nothing in particular. "Oi, producers! This isn't some cheesy romance shit! Turn time back to normal or I'll hack you!" The others looked at him weirdly at his remark, but he ignored them.

It seems like the producers were listening. Time resumed again, allowing the two to fall to the ground normally. Jaune landed on his stomach and Weiss landed on his back. "My hero," Weiss dully responded, checking her nails.

Hawkeye scoffed. "Pathetic." Anthony nodded with him in agreement.

"Are you serious?" Thor asked. "That was true bravery! Heroically trying to save her and using his body as a cushion! That takes true guts!"

"More like true stupidity," Anthony responded, getting Ruby and Yang to giggle. Looking to the side, he saw Pyrrha flying towards them. "Looks like it's my chance to shine. Don't do anything." Walking forward, Anthony opened up his arms and gracefully caught Pyrrha, carrying her bridal style. "Yo, Pyrrha. I missed you. And it seems you missed me too! If you wanted to see me all you had to do was ask!"

Pyrrha blushed, both at being held the way she was and at Anthony's words.

"How come he gets to catch the girl properly and I don't?" Jaune muttered jealously, looking at the scene.

"Well, the gang's all here. Now we can die together," Yang said, chipper.

"You need to work on your pessimism, Sunshine," Anthony commented, putting Pyrrha down.

Thor raised up his hammer. "I do not plan to die today by some foul beasts. I plan to fight!"

"Way ahead of you," Hawkeye spoke, an arrow on his string that was aimed at the incoming Grimm. He paused seeing Ruby run ahead of them. "And apparently, so is she."

"Ruby, wait!" Yang called out, but to no avail.

Taking out her scythe, Ruby used a shot from it to boost herself forward towards the Deathstalker. However, this was in vain. Her attack bounced right off its arm. She fell on her back, picking herself up. "D-Don't worry. Totally fine," she tried to reassure the group.

Turning around, she came face-to-face with the Deathstalker,. Uselessly firing at it, she turned to run away.

"Ruby!" Yang called, trying to run forward. But she wasn't going to make it in time.

Ruby tried to run away from the Grimm. However, the other flying Grimm flew up, flapping its wings to launch deadly feather projectiles. She managed to dodge a couple, but her hood caught in one of them. The feathers also halted Yang's progress towards her sister.

Uselessly trying to remove the feather, Ruby could only watch in horror as the Deathstalker came closer, aiming its pincer at her. She closed her eyes, awaiting the fatal blow, but it never came.

"Seriously, Red. Why is it that I end up saving you every time?" Anthony's voice spoke up. Ruby opened her eyes to see Anthony in front of her, Eclipse Cutter out. She turned her head to see the pincer of the Grimm severed from a single blow. The Deathstalker screeched in pain, though couldn't do anything as Anthony raised his hand and, mentally summoning his mechanical glove, shot a blast of highly excited electrons as a beam towards the Grimm, blasting it away.

"Woah!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly. "That was awesome!"

"Yeah, I know," Anthony smirked. "Next time-" he swung his blade towards the feather trapping her, cutting it off. "-don't be so eager."

"Thanks," Ruby said, standing up. She was then tackled by a very concerned Yang, who wrapped her in a hug.

Seeing that Ruby was fine, Anthony decided to end this. He mentally summoning his visor and a new battle armour **(A.N. - Think of how Robocop looks in the his 2014 film, which was his new look. That looked awesome, by the way)**. Turning the knob on his visor, he fired a crimson concussive beam from his quartz-filtered slit **(A.N. - Think of how Cyclops does it)**.

The beam struck the Grimm, causing it to screech and recoil, being burned. It tried to back away, but Anthony wouldn't let him. Increasing the intensity of his beam, Anthony homed the attack of the head of the Grimm, causing a small hole to appear from the burnt skin.

"Woah..." Yang commented as everyone watched, impressed, as Anthony took on the Deathstalker Grimm on his own. A screech from the air alerted them, letting them remember that there was more than one Grimm to take care of. Anthony didn't seem worried, though. "Hey, Thor!" he called out. "Think you can handle our guest in the sky?"

Thor grinned. "I never thought you'd ask!" he replied. Swinging his hammer from the strap, he launched it towards the flying Grimm. This allowed him to fly from his hammer, letting him fly. Once he reached the same altitude, he raised his hammer towards the sky. Storm clouds gathered suddenly, startling the teens watching from below. The clouds rumbled with thunder, before lightning shot down from the sky towards Thor's hammer, encasing it in a large amount of electricity. The flying Grimm tried to launch its feather projectiles towards Thor, but it was too late.

Aiming Mjölnir at the Grimm, Thor unleashed an enormous amount of energy towards the Grimm, disintegrating the projectiles. The Grimm tried to fly away, but it was futile. The blast swallowed it up, completely destroying the monster. It gave one final caw, before it was destroyed by Thor's attack. This was followed by a loud BOOM, followed by a blinding light.

The group below gawked at the scene that had taken place above them, some blinking spots from their eyes due to the intense light while others continued to gape. Seeing that he had chosen right, as well as being impressed by what he saw, Anthony finished burning through the brain of the Deathstalker. It sat there, dead and lobotomised.

Sheathing Eclipse Cutter, Anthony unsheathed it again, caked in electricity. Swinging the sword in the direction of the midsection of the dead Grimm, Anthony sheathed his sword slowly. At the _click_ , the Grimm was severed in half, fading away into darkness.

Cracking his neck, his visor slid upwards to reveal his eyes. He looked up to see Thor landing on the ground. High-fiving his partner, he grinned. "That was awesome!"

"Indeed," Thor agreed, smirking.

But before they could celebrate, the undergrowth in front of them rustled, before breaking away. What was revealed were multiple Deathstalkers, Ursa, and Beowulf Grimm, growling and prowling towards the teens. There were so many that it looked like an army.

Thor grinned at seeing all of the Grimm. "Excellent. More challengers!"

"You read my mind," Anthony grinned as well, popping his visor back on. "Let's rock!"

"Guys!" Blake shouted towards the two. "Run! You can't take all of them on!"

"I don't know about you, girlie. But I'm not leaving my friend to get all the action and not invite me," Hawkeye spoke, looking towards the hundred or so Grimm ahead of them. He turned to the Hulk. "What say you, Big Guy?"

Hulk roared in anticipation, eager to get in on the action.

"You guys can't take all of them on!" Jaune warned. "Run! There's an entire army of Grimm there!"

Hawkeye shrugged. "So? We have a Hulk." He pointed to the green giant, who leaped towards the army, roaring in response.

Before the others could say anything, Anthony yelled to them. "If you guys can't handle it, run! We'll meet up with you later! Go!"

"But you'll die!" Ruby yelled, not willing to leave them alone.

Anthony barked a laugh, blasting an approaching Ursa. "Please. We'll be fine. Now go!"

Ruby made to argue, but Yang wrapped an arm around her, pulling her forward. "I'll hold you to your promise, Shy Guy! You better come back alive!"

"Got it! Now go!" Anthony yelled, blasting Grimm after Grimm.

The others ran ahead towards the tower, leaving the four to face the incoming army.

"What say you, friends?" Thor asked, twirling his hammer in his hands. "Shall we fight?!"

"No need to tell us twice, Goldilocks," Hawkeye responded, prepping his bow and shooting down an approaching Ursa.

"Don't break your wings, birdie," Anthony teased, getting Hawkeye to glare at him.

Hulk roared, and that was the sign for both sides to attack.

 ***Play: Fight As One by Downstait ***

Hulk was the first to attack, leaping up and slamming onto the ground where dozens of Deathstalkers were, sending them flying. He grabbed the pincer of an unlucky one, ripping it off before stabbing it in its head, killing it instantly.

Hawkeye launched arrow after arrow, some freezing several Grimm in their place while others were net arrows, wrapping a group in a steel wire net, letting Hulk finish them off. The archer jumped up and unleashed a barrage of arrows, electrocuting, freezing, trapping and knocking out any approaching Ursa and Beowulf while killing the occasional Deathstalker.

Thor held out his hammer, summoning lightning from the heavens. With that, he struck the ground, electrocuting dozens of Grimm heavily, causing them to disappear in darkness. Swinging his weapon towards the jaw of a Deathstalker, killing it instantly. He swung around, tackling any flying or airborne Grimm and taking care of them. Opening his arms out widely, summoning a tornado from the winds. Waving his hands, he commanded the tornado to swallow any unfortunate Grimm. Holding his hands out clockwise, he caused the tornado to fold in on itself, crushing the Grimm from the pressure and sucking up more.

Anthony kept on blasting the incoming Grimm, using his Aura as a fuel instead of his other energy, wanting to save up on it. Taking a different approach, he morphed his mechanical arms into missile launchers. Taking aim, he launched multiple missiles from his arms, exploding upon contact and killing groups of Grimm by the number. Seeing a couple of Deathstalkers head his way, he slammed his hands together, forming wires and morphed them together. After a couple of seconds, the two missile launchers morphed into a giant laser cannon that was attached to both his hands.

Grinning, he fired, a giant laser spat from the mouth, incinerating a legion of the heavy hitters and still destroying some.

"Yo, Hulk," he shouted to the green goliath, who was busy smashing enemies. "Let's make it fun! Air time!"

Getting what he was at, Hulk grinned. He raised his arms and slammed the ground, destroying it and creating a shockwave across that made the others stumble. The Grimm were launched in the air due to the sudden shift in the earth as well as the shockwave lifting them up. This made them easy pickings for the others: Anthony with tank missiles and bullets, Hawkeye with arrows and Thor with lightning. Upon death, the Grimm spewed out blobs of darkness, spraying everywhere like confetti.

Seeing that the number of Grimm have decreased drastically from hundreds to dozens, Anthony called out, "Let's finish this."

Seeing the others nodding, Anthony took out Eclipse Cutter and dashed forward, his cybernetic suit boosting his physical capabilities. Channelling electricity through it, Anthony hacked and slashed through Grimm, slicing through them like a hot knife through butter, and chopped through them complete precision.

Hulk stomped upon and through them with no problem, crushing them in his path. He kept smashing the Grimm into pieces of darkness, roaring in triumph and excitement.

Hawkeye kept sniping them down while Thor kept pelting them with lightning. Until finally, the dozens of Grimm were reduced to a measly four. Simultaneously, all of them finished off their assigned Grimm: Anthony by slicing his in half, Hulk crushing his own with one fist, Hawkeye sniping his through the head while Thor crushed his by slamming down his hammer.

Each take-down was picture perfect. Literally. Up ahead was a drone created by Anthony to survey and record the fight for future purposes. What? They were awesome, and had to show it.

As the four surveyed the battlefield, finished with their opponent, they turned to one another. Walking towards each other, they stuck out their hands, fist-bumping each other for an kickass job well done. As well as proving that they were the strongest.

 ***End song***

 **XXX**

All of the students were in the main hall, having completed the task. When Ruby and the others met up with the four, they were extremely worried and awed that the four of them took on an entire legion of Grimm by themselves. Something even grown Huntsman and Huntresses couldn't do. Anthony just replied that they were badasses.

Apparently, the other group dealt with some stray Grimm, and had quite a tough time. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora took on a Deathstalker while Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Blake on the flying Grimm by themselves, with Ruby severing its head in an awesome fashion. Anthony was impressed by the little munchkin.

Now, Ozpin was announcing the teams.

"Russell Thrush, Carden Winchester, Dove Bronsemen, Skye Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forth you will work together as team CRDL. Led by Cardin Winchester," Ozpin announced to one group of boys that Anthony didn't care about. There was more applause, before the boys stepped down from the stage.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie.," Ozpin spoke to the following students who had stepped forward on stage. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team JNPR. Led by Jaune Arc." Nora hugged Ren. This apparently shocked Jaune, who looked nervous and unsure. But Pyrrha congratulated him. By punching him on the arm, causing him to tumble. There was polite applause again, followed by some snickering, before the teens stepped off the stage.

"Blake Belladona, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin spoke to the following girls. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team RWBY. Led by Ruby Rose." Ruby looked shocked while Yang hugged her sister happily. "I'm so proud of you!" she congratulated her sister, who looked extremely nervous. Anthony gave a loud applause, followed by putting his fingers in his mouth and whistling loudly, getting Ruby to blush. After the polite applause, all the girls stepped down.

"Valhalla d'Aesir, also known as Thor, Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye, Anthony Black and Robert 'Bruce' Banner," Ozpin spoke, getting the boys - with Bruce now normal with clothes on - stepped forward on the stage. "The four of you retrieved the black pawn pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team AVHR (Avenger). Led by Anthony Black." Anthony was shocked, but quickly nodded to the fact that he was the team leader. Thor punched his shoulder playfully, causing it to bruise, while Hawkeye nodded to him. Bruce shook his hand and nodded his head. Ruby and Yang were waving and applauding loudly in congratulations, making Anthony smirk.

"Looks like things are shaping up to be an interesting year," Ozpin said over the applause.

Anthony smirked. "Couldn't agree more."

 **And done! Good grief.**

 **I'm quite happy about this chapter. Got an introduction to other students, my favourites being Pyrrha, Jaune and Nora, as well as an introduction to my own OCs. Copied to form the Avengers! Woohoo! Plus an awesome fight scene, including a giant group of monsters, Hulk smashing, Thor slamming his hammer, Hawkeye shooting and Anthony being a badass. Along with an awesome song from a TV show that will forever hold a place in my heart.**

 **A big shout out to pokemonsuperallstarfan who helped me with the making of my OCs as well as the team name. Without him** (you are a him, right?) **I'd probably be stuck coming up with a name as well as which characters to pick. Thanks very much, man** (or gal) **.**

 **Review-questioning time! For Guest who responded recently, Anthony has no relation to Marcus and Mercury Black, though I do see where you're coming from.**

 **To .Lord, an Ezio Auditore OC? Possibly. I like the idea, and both characters would mix very well with their playboyish tendencies. I could put him in.**

 **Also, question: should I turn Jaune into a Captain America? Blonde hair, blue eyes, strong sense of justice (sort of for Jaune) and will to do what is right. Plus, with Jaune having no Semblance, it could work.**

 **More members from the Avengers will be put in the story, though will not be a part of Beacon. Also, be on the lookout for familiar enemies.**

 **And as for harem members: Cinder is a possibility, along with Emerald and Penny. Though RWBY and Pyrrha are definitely in. We'll see as the story progresses.**

 **Thanks! Read and Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

The sun was rising on Beacon Academy, and everyone was sleeping comfortably without a care in the world. Team AVHR hadn't set up their rooms properly, too tired from all that had happened at the initiation. So they compromised. Bruce and Clint got the two large beds. Thor got to sleep on a rucksack, which may have seemed cruel but Thor had said that he was used to sleeping like this, and Anthony got a hammock set up for himself that was set up in the middle of the room. It was no bed, but he managed.

Yes, the team was enjoying their sleep. Until...

 **BANG**

Anthony jumped out of his hammock and landed painfully on the floor, groaning. Thor had stood up, Mjölnir in his hand at the ready. Clint brought out his bow but without any quivers and Bruce woke up abruptly, eyes bleary.

All the boys were alarmed at the loud noise, and was wondering whether there was an emergency or something.

That is, until a sound from the dorm next to them reached their ears. "Rise and shine, folks! It's the first day of classes!"

Anthony growled as he heard the familiar voice. Bruce looked confused and Clint looked annoyed. Only Thor was the only one looking amused. "Ruby! Will you shut up?! Some of us were sleeping!" Anthony yelled to the girl on the other side of their wall.

"Oops," Ruby giggled nervously. "Sorry!"

Three of the boys growled as they held their heads, their minds still stuck in sleep mode.

"I have no idea why you all are so annoyed," Thor said in confusion. "Where I was from, we all woke at the immediate crack of da-" The teen's mouth clamped shut at the evil glare the other three were giving him. "I-I'll just shut up now," he chuckled nervously.

"Smartest decision you've made," Clint snarked, still feeling sleepy. "Ugh. Anthony! Control your friend!"

"How the hell do you expect me to control a fifteen-year old girl?!" Anthony asked in irritation.

"I don't know! But just do it! I don't want to wake up like this every day!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Sleeping Beauty! I suggest that you shove an arrow up your ass to put you out of your misery!"

"What was that, Repair Boy?!"

"You heard me-"

"Ahem," Bruce coughed, getting both of their attention. "I believe that, instead of fighting with each other, we should be focused on getting ready for classes."

"... Bruce, it's six," Clint deadpanned, looking at the clock that hung on the wall.

"Even better. And we still need to unpack and clean our room."

"Way ahead of you, Green Bean," Anthony said, mentally recalling something in his suitcase.

"... Green Bean?" Bruce questioned with his eye twitching. Clint and Thor snickered at the nickname.

Anthony ignored him for a minute and summoned his personal assist- uh, android. Soon enough, a silver blur popped up from his suitcase and landed in front of Anthony, expanding to form a humanoid figure with silver skin. The skin shimmered a bit, before melting away to form supposedly human skin. When it was done, what was in its place was a normal-looking man with black hair, brown eyes and an emotionless expression. He seemed to be wearing a butler's clothes.

The man bowed to Anthony. "How do you do, sir?"

"I'm fine Arsenal," Anthony nodded with a smile.

"Uhh, did you all see the metal man transform into a normal man?" Thor asked carefully. The other two boys nodded, confusion written on their faces.

"Guys," Anthony said with a smile. "Meet my personal android and close friend, Arsenal."

"Arsenal?" Clint questioned. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's an acronym," Anthony answered. "A.R.S.E.N.A.L stands for Automated Recreational System & Engineering Neuro-Accessory Link. Say hi, Arsenal."

"Hello," Arsenal bowed in greeting. "It is nice to meet Master Anthony's teammates. Greetings to you all, Valhalla d'Aesir, also known as Thor, Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye, and Robert 'Bruce' Banner."

"How does he know our names?" Bruce asked curiously, now less creeped out by Arsenal than the others.

"I updated the information to him," Anthony answered. "Arsenal is considered to be an AI that my father and myself created for myself when I was younger. He's been with me through most of my travels and is practically my only trusted companion. He's also really awesome at what he does."

"And I assume that would be being your personal butler?" Bruce asked with some disappointment. He was a little sad at the fact that an amazing piece of technology never seen before - not even in Atlas, which was considered the most advanced in technology - and was used as simply a butler.

"Among other things," Anthony said, seeing the disappointment in Bruce's eyes and knowing what he was thinking. "While he can do far more than what I usually use him for, he sometimes prefers these kind of jobs." Turning to his AI, Anthony commanded. "Arsenal, do your thing."

"As you wish, sir." And with that, he suddenly disappeared. The other three boys' eyes focused on the speeding movement of Arsenal as he swept, cleaned, brushed and vacuumed the entire room. He even managed to set up the beds in bunk-bed form while he was at it.

After a while, Arsenal had finished and stood beside his creator. "Mission accomplished, sir."

And the boys could see the result of his finished mission. The room was now sparkling clean. The floors sweeped and cleaned, the walls polished to perfection, and the beds were now in bunk-bed form. The surprising thing was that the two beds were now split into four, so there was now two beds in each set. All in all, the room looked much, much better than it had been before the boys slept in.

"Wow," Clint exclaimed as he inspected everything. He then turned to Anthony. "Can I have him?" he asked with mock seriousness, although he was hoping that he'd say yes.

"No!" Anthony hissed with vehemence, shocking the other teens. "Sorry. It's just..." he sighed. "Arsenal has been a part of my life for a long time. He's precious to me."

"As much as a treasure your feelings towards me, sir, may I ask that you learn to clean up after yourself?" Arsenal asked.

Anthony scoffed. "Arsenal, you've been with me for a long time, and you know how I am with cleaning up after myself. Fighting Grimm? That I can do. Kicking ass and taking names? Sign me up. But cleaning up after myself? Too troublesome."

"I know," Arsenal sighed. "It was worth a shot. Anyway, I bid you all ado." And with that, he folded in on himself, like a retractable tent, and turned into a metal rectangle. With that, Arsenal hopped up in the air and landed in Anthony's suitcase.

"... You're going to bring more of your weirdness to this school, aren't you?" Thor asked tiredly. Anthony just grinned.

"More like madness," he corrected. "Now, since we've been woken up, how about we go do some morning workouts?"

"Sounds good to me," Thor agreed readily. Clint seemed on board but Bruce seemed to disagree. "I don't know guys. Maybe we can actually focus on studying..." His words died when he saw all three boys prepped in workout clothes all of a sudden. "Never mind," he sighed.

All members of Team AVHR walked out of their dorm and went inside the Emerald Forest, doing some light stretches and some jogging. And taking out some Grimm as training bonding. Now, normally first years and even some second years would be hesitant to walk into the Emerald Forest willingly for something as profound as training. Obviously, Team AVHR was the exception.

As they sparred and exercised, Anthony was able to get a read on his teammates. Sure, he'd already seen most of it during the Grimm invasion fight that they participated in, but that was when they were fighting. This was simple. As team leader, it would help knowing the moves and skills of his comrades and be able to come up with combo moves and strategies.

A couple of hours later, the team had returned to their dorms, all sweaty and slightly exhausted. Checking the time, they realised that they had twenty minutes left until classes started.

"Dibs on the shower!" Anthony called out before anyone else could. The technopath dashed towards the bathroom, the burning glares of the other boys drilling into his back.

Five minutes to nine, all boys dashed out of their door, sprinting towards their first lesson, which was Grimm Studies. They were dressed in the Beacon uniform. As they ran, they noticed Team RUBY and JNPR running beside them in the same direction.

"'Sup Red, Sunny, Ninja Girl, Bitch, Vomit Boy, Nora, Ren," Anthony greeted as the three teams ran.

"Hi, Anthony!" "Yo!" "I'm not a ninja." "How dare you call me such a derogatory name?!" "Seriously?!" Were the responses from each girl from Team RUBY and Jaune. Ren and Nora nodded in greeting to him.

 _Grimm Studies, a while later..._

The classroom that is Grimm Studies in an auditorium-like classroom with the whiteboards displaying drawings of Grimm, with an axe-blunderbuss weapon displayed above the board.

The teacher of Grimm Studies is Peter Port, a slightly overweight middle-aged man with grey hair and a grey moustache with closed eyes, and wearing a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons and pants that are tucked into his olive boots.

"Monsters! Deeeemons! ... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!"

Team RWBY, who were seated in the front row, had varying degrees of interest: Blake and even Yang were sitting up and paying attention, Weiss was taking notes, Ruby had her head propped in her hand napping until she woke back up due to Port's bad attempt at a joke.

Team AVHR was seated in the middle row. Bruce and Thor was taking notes, Clint was napping and Anthony was fiddling with some tech stuff covered by a book propped up.

"Uhhhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying." Port recovered and started pacing. "Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..."

At that, Port gives Yang a flirtatious wink, which she groaned uncomfortably at. Anthony snickered behind his book-shield, getting Yang to glare at him from behind.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

Anthony discreetly looked around the classroom, finished with his invention. A robotic field mouse. Grinning, he mentally commanded it to fall to the floor and quickly crawl across the classroom, out of Port's view. Making it go towards a sleeping student, he made it nibble at his foot.

Checking what was eating at his foot, the student woke up and saw the field mouse. "AHHHHHH!" he yelled in fear, jumping up from his seat and into the air, landing on his table in a heap.

Several students, including Yang, Ruby, Clint and Anthony, laughed at the scene. Blake, surprisingly, hissed at the scurrying robotic mouse that she discreetly saw. Weiss, Bruce and Thor looked annoyed at the scene.

"Damion, get back up and sit down!" Port scolded from where he stood. The student called Damion blushed, got up from his table and sat down, mortified. Anthony just chuckled at his prank.

"Anyways, that is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..."

Anthony groaned, his earlier mood forgotten. Were they learning how to fight Grimm or to die from boredom? The same thought seemed to reflect on the other students' face. On the RUBY table, Weiss, who was now looking a bit bored herself, notices Ruby drawing something on her notepaper.

"...Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me..."

"This is going to be an easy pass," Clint whispered to Anthony, who nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Weiss' eyes twitched when she heard Ruby continuing to draw and looked to see her finally up the drawing to the rest of the team: a drawing of a general ball-with-limbs-and-a-head of the teacher directing the funny drawings of her and her team in battling blurs of line that are the Grimm.

Blake and Yang - along with Clint and Anthony who saw it - discreetly laughed while Weiss still looked annoyed.

"Ah-heh-hem!"

Team RUBY and half of Team AVHR jumped and gave Port their 'undivided' attention.

"In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

Anthony yawned as Port took a bow, with Weiss noticing and getting frustrated with his blatant disrespect and the rest of her teammates' antics.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!"

Blake was seen reading a book catalog, looking for the next addition of Ninjas of Love. Interesting.

"A true Huntsman must be dependable!"

Yang was seen yawning before taking out a brush to brush her hair.

"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

Ruby pretended to fall asleep again and mocked waking up, bored and looking for some action.

All of these little antics fueling Weiss' rage.

"Uh oh. Looks like Ice Queen's about to blow," Clint commented to his team.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss immediately raised her hand, "I do, sir!" Anthony snorted at her action, making Weiss turn and glare at him. Anthony just raised an eyebrow.

"Well then Miss Schnee, let's find out!" Port said and whipped off a cover to reveal a shaking cage with a set set of glowing red eyes and a growl within. "Get changed, step forward, and face your opponent!"

The heiress walked forward, taking out her rapier in preparation. Standing up, Ruby was cheering Weiss. "Go, Weiss, represent Team RWBY!"

"Shut up Ruby," Weiss growled, which made Anthony and the other members of Team AVHR frown.

"That girl needs to learn some proper manners," Thor said, frowning deeply. He, as well as the others, weren't big fans of Weiss, and it showed.

"I agree," Clint said, grinning with evil intent. "Maybe a fart arrow would do the trick."

"... You have fart arrows?" Anthony questioned, confused and excited at the same time.

"Repair Boy, I have arrows for just about anything."

Suddenly, as Port removed the lock from the cage, a Boarbatusk sprung out of the cage. Roaring its red eyes looked directly at Weiss, it began to make motions to charge. Anthony raised an eyebrow at the Grimm. Boarbatusk weren't hard to kill, but annoying at times to deal with.

Weiss barely dodged to the right, charging forward with her Semblance. She attempted to drive her sword into the head of the beast. Only for the beast to knock her away, her sword had no effect as it bounded off its body armour.

Clint scoffed as he watched the fight. "So much for the _heiress of the Schnee Dust Company_ ," he mocked. "Honestly, I thought that she'd be a little more impressive."

"True," Bruce agreed.

Getting back up, Weiss vaulted over the Boarbatusk when it charged again. This time she attempted to stab it from the back, only for her sword to once again hit the bony armour. Her troubles were awarded when the beast launched both of its feet back.

She was knocked back, with everyone looking concerned.

"Weiss, Weiss, its belly!" Ruby called out. "Stab it in the belly!" Anthony was surprised at the fact that she knew its weakness.

"Shut up Ruby!" Weiss snapped at the girl, and glared at the Boarbatusk as it charged back at her.

"Oi! Don't be angry at her just because you can't take on a simple Boarbatusk!" Anthony shouted in defence of the girl.

"Shut up!" Weiss yelled towards Anthony.

"Make me, bitch!"

"Mr. Black!" Port chided from the sidelines. "Please refrain from using such language in class!"

Slamming her sword into the floor, Weiss made an ice ramp as it charged at her. It tried to dodge, only for it to go into the air. Weiss jumped up, creating a glyph that she used to launch herself from and ram her sword through its belly.

The boar Grimm screams in pain, slowly, it stopped wiggling around. Dead, it soon dispersed into black smoke, while Weiss all the while was breathing hard. She was taking a deep breath when Ruby once again shouts out at her.

"Yeah, Weiss! You did it!" Ruby cheered. "That's a way to represent Team RWBY."

"Shut up!" Weiss screamed, silencing Ruby. She then walks towards the door as the bell rings.

"I am going to bitch-slap that bitch," Anthony seethed, gripping the edge of the table in anger.

Thor patted Anthony on the back. "'Tis alright, Anthony. Do not let her actions get to you. Let her parade in her arrogance."

"I would if it didn't affect others," Anthony growled. He watched as Ruby slowly stepped outside with everyone else. Team AVHR joined the other students as they exited the classroom.

"I'll be back. I want to check something," Anthony informed his teammates, walking behind. As he made his way to his destination, he saw the person that he wanted to see, along with the one he didn't want to see.

"Weiss, I'm sorry really," Ruby apologised to Weiss, who looked furious.

"No, you look here! You only goof off, you only think this is all for fun! Let me tell you something Ruby, you're an immature brat!" Weiss scolded Ruby, looking right into her silver eyes. "You don't deserve to be here if all you are going to do is sit and… goof off!"

Anthony's arms buzzed with electricity as he grew angry at the scene. Who the fuck did this bitch think she was to berate Ruby like that?!

"Look… Weiss, I'm sorry," Ruby apologised. She looked downcast by Weiss's scolding. "I really am. Aren't we supposed to be partners?"

"What partner? Partners help each other, they don't goof off when another is needing their help. As for you being my leader as well, Ozpin made a mistake, because you don't deserve to be here!" Weiss stormed off, leaving Ruby standing there, looking hurt.

Tears spilled down her eyes, finally, she had her anger break as well. "Well, you know what, at least I'm not a jerk Weiss! At least I can fight, I don't run away from fights! You're such a jerk, Weiss, you've been that way since day one!" Having let out her anger, she turned around, bumping into Anthony.

"You're right," he said simply. Ruby was surprised that he was there.

"Anthony? Wha-"

"Ignore what she said, Ruby," Anthony said, placing his hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort. "She's just a spoiled rich brat who thinks she's big just because of her daddy. You, on the other hand, are dedicated in being a Huntress and have spirit. You're young, but you have amazing potential to be a great leader. I believe you belong here, as does Ozpin. So does your sister, though can't say the same about Ninja Girl. Don't let Weiss' words bring you down. Now, I have some strong words to tell our resident Ice Queen." With that done, Anthony walked past Ruby, who seemed to be strengthened by his words.

"Thanks, Anthony," she said quietly, though he was able to hear her.

Anthony only waved his hand as he continued walking. "Call me Tony."

Weiss was overlooking the school across a balcony. She gripping her fists. "I can't believe I push to be here, do what I can, and then I get upstaged by some snout-nosed little brat that doesn't have a clue! I always heard that Ozpin was wise, that he was one of the best to learn under, well apparently that was just a lie!" She screamed at nothing. "This is stupid, dealing with The White Fang as it stands and now this… what's next?"

"Hey bitch," Anthony called from behind her.

Growling, Weiss whirled around. "What do you want you-"

She was interrupted by a powerful slap from Anthony to the face. This wasn't a normal slap, as Anthony channelled electricity into his palm to make in more stinging and damaging.

Weiss almost toppled over the balcony as she collapsed, her cheek now having a large bruise on her face. She cried out in pain as she held her face.

"Now you're going to listen to me, because I'm really angry right now," he said calmly, a contrast to how he was feeling inside.

"How dare you-" Weiss was interrupted by another slap that almost broke her jaw. She cried out in pain again as there was now another large bruise on her face.

"I'm not sure if you didn't get the message," Anthony calmly said again, his eyes crackling with electricity. "So I'll repeat it: you are going to listen to me."

Weiss didn't say anything now, the pain making her unable to speak.

"If you ever say such bullshit to Ruby again or even think of doing anything to hurt her, I **will** make your life a living hell the longer you stay here," he threatened, glaring down at the almost sobbing girl. "I don't give a damn about who you are, or what bullshit others have force-fed you when you were younger, but the world doesn't revolve around you. No Grimm is going to care if you're an heiress when they attack you. No Huntsman or Huntress is going to think twice about your last name. You are not above any of us, so get that tree shoved up your ass removed, or your life is going to be _very_ short the longer you stay here, and that will have nothing to do with me. If anyone deserves to be here at Beacon, it's Ruby. She's proven that far more than you ever will. You don't get to decide who is who, or what position they are. So let me make this very clear to you, Weiss: if you don't stop being a colossal bitch and grow the fuck up from being a spoilt brat, I promise you. You. Will. Regret. It."

Having said his piece, Anthony turned around and walked away, leaving Weiss to lay there, crying and holding her injured face.

 **XXX**

Anthony had come back from venting his anger. That being hacking at several dummies with Eclipse Cutter and blasting them with laser cannons. When his team asked if he was alright, he said that he was fine, even though they knew that he wasn't. Nevertheless, they didn't question their team leader, as they knew he could handle himself.

As he lied on his bed and played with his Scroll, he remembered that he wanted to check up on Ruby to see if she was alright. He didn't know why he felt so strongly for the girl, since they knew each other for only a short while. But the girl kind of grew on him. It was kind of impossible to hate her. She was so damn innocent.

Exiting his dorm, he went to knock on the dorm of Team RWBY's door. However, before he could, he heard commotion in the room.

"Look, as I said… I-I jumped the gun…I'm sorry. I should've appreciated your help a lot more than I did Ruby," Weiss apologized. "Y-You helped me… and I threw it in your face." Then Anthony heard the sound of two bumps. "Please," Anthony could hear Weiss choke a sob. "Accept my apology."

Anthony was shocked that she was so apologetic so quickly. He thought that it'd take longer for her to say sorry. He was even further shocked when Ruby said, "Weiss... it's okay. There's no need to kneel or cry. Please stand up." Weiss, the Ice Bitch, was kneeling in apology?! He wished he could record the moment so that he could believe it.

"I forgive you, just don't be so childish when I give you advice, my family has been in the business of killing Grimm for generations. I'm not some child whose…well…mostly winging it." Ruby admitted.

Anthony decided to leave. He didn't want to eavesdrop, and he saw that things were ironed out. Which was good. Smiling, he left to his own dorm.

 **XXX**

It's been several weeks since that eventful first day at Beacon Academy for Team RWBY. Despite while some of its members still held some secrets from the others, they started working together as a cohesive unit, in and out of class, while doing some individual tasks.

Ruby was studying and experimenting on being a leader to great success, and so far hasn't had another ill-tempered episode like her did during the initiation in the forest and the first day. She usually went to Anthony for notes on how to be a better leader. While the technopath didn't know much himself, he helped her whenever necessary. Weiss was improving her personality and behavior, but still had yet to know how to take it easy and have some fun. Blake was still being her mysterious self, but was sociable to her fellow teammates. Yang was being her usual self, and enjoys teasing everyone on the team.

Team AVHR was doing very well themselves. Anthony went over the skills and strategies that Bruce, Thor and Clint had and used. Then he went over the video of them taking the army of Grimm in the Emerald Forest, going over his teammates' movements and fighting patterns. He drew up plans of teamwork and training that would benefit each of them. Thor and Bruce were the muscle of the team, with Thor being half of the aerial support. Clint was the sniper, obviously, and was tasked with trapping and crippling enemies with his arrows. Anthony was the other half of the aerial support, as well as the most versatile due to his suits and creations. Alone, they could accomplish great things. Together, they were unstoppable.

However lately, there was one person Anthony was concerned about, and that person was not a member of Team RWBY or AVHR, yet a fellow first year student like them.

Jaune Arc, the leader of Team JNPR, who was currently in a sparring match with the leader of Team CRNL, Cardin Winchester… and losing badly.

"This would be funny if I weren't concerned for Vomit Boy," Anthony muttered to himself before turning to the redhead next to him, "Oi Pyrrha, it's the same thing with Jaune every week there in Dueling Class. You would think that he would show signs of improvement and at least get a couple wins by now. What's going on with your partner?"

"Honesty, I don't know." Pyrrha said, rubbing the back of her head while laughing nervously. "But he'll get better in time. I'm sure of it!"

"Sure," Anthony said sarcastically. Honestly, he was so bored of watching the same thing for a couple of weeks. He and the others couldn't get a decent challenge as the other students knew of Team AVHR's accomplishment of killing an army of dangerous Grimm, something only very skilled Huntsmen and Huntresses could do. And so they were subject to fear, envy, awe and a little lust. The last part was mainly due to Thor, as several girls fawned over him, liking the whole Viking spiel he had going for him.

So neither of the team members could get any decent challenges in Dueling Class. Thor had to face Bruce, which was an awesome match to watch. Though the result was Goodwitch stopping the match as it got a little destructive. Bruce was also subjective to a few snide and cruel remarks about his Semblance, but Anthony and Thor put a stop to that. Thor by striking his hammer down on the ground and destroying it, and Anthony with a few robotic pranks of his.

Anyways, back to the match at hand. On the auditorium stage, Cardin had his mace perched on his shoulder, smirking at an exhausted Jaune, who was on one knee leaning on Crocea Mors sword and shield as support.

Jaune looked up at Cardin, who laughed at him, prompting him to gather his strength and rush forward. He swung his sword at Cardin, but his opponent easily dodged. Jaune looked surprised at the maneuver and failed to completely block Cardin's mace strike that sent him tumbling back while disarming him of his shield. Despite being armed with a sword, Jaune let out a battle cry and charged forward again to attack, with Cardin blocking the strike with the hilt of his weapon. As their weapons deadlocked, Cardin showed his strength as he pressed Jaune close to the ground and towered over him.

"This is the part where you lose," Cardin taunted the country boy, who refused to back down.

"Over my dead-!" Jaune started to counter back, but was interrupted by Cardin kneeing him in the stomach.

Jaune groaned in pain as he dropped his sword and fell to the ground, wheezing. As he looked up, Cardin rose his mace over his head and was about to slam it into the face of a now scared Jaune when thankfully the buzzer rang, followed by the lights coming back on and signaling the end of the spar with the result screens showing above the stage.

"That's enough, Cardin!" Glynda's voice snapped as she herself walked onto the stage and glared at Cardin, who growled a little before walking away.

"So much for inter-school unity," Anthony said as he took his hand away from his sword that he was going to use on Cardin's mace as Glynda addressed the class.

"Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." Glynda explained as Jaune looked at the small tablet scroll on the back of his shield in defeat and Pyrrha looking disheartened. Then Glynda turned her attention to Jaune.

"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more…defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowulf now, would we?"

"Speak for yourself…," Cardin muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes as Glynda turned her attention back to the other students.

"Now, the last match for the day is between Anthony Black and Pyrrha Nikos. Will the following students please step forward onto the stage?" Glynda asked, getting whispers to sound across the students. Pyrrha was one of the best fighters in Beacon and even labelled 'The Invincible Girl', due to her outstanding performance in previous tournaments. Anthony, on the other hand, wasn't exactly as famous as Pyrrha but was rumoured to be just as skilled as her, mainly due to his and his team's destroying the army of Grimm at the initiation. So the match was bound to be interesting.

Anthony smirked at Pyrrha, who had a challenging grin on her face. The two of them stepped onto the stage, getting ready.

At the side, Teams RWBY, JNPR and AVHR were making bets as to who would win.

"Ten Lien on Anthony," Yang betted with Nora. "Guaranteed."

"No way," Nora disagreed. "Pyrrha's got this in the bag."

"Agreed," Weiss said. Despite toning down her arrogance heavily, and silently thanking Anthony for breaking her out of it, she still didn't like him that much. But she was just biased. "Pyrrha's known for being the best. Even if Anthony did participate in killing the army of Grimm, he still is no match against Pyrrha." At Clint's chuckling, she glared at him. "Something funny?"

"Yeah," the archer said. "The fact that you think that Tony would lose against her. Don't get me wrong, Pyrrha's good, I'll admit. But Tony's in a league of his own. The guy's arrogant as hell, but he's a damn good fighter."

"Agreed," Thor nodded. Bruce also nodded in agreement.

"Well, we haven't really seen Anthony fight, so it wouldn't be fair to judge," Ren said, being the voice of neutrality on his team. Yang, Nora and Weiss stared at him, before going back to their argument. "My money's on Tech Boy." "Pyrrha's going to dominate." "I concur."

Ren sighed. "Why do I even try?" he asked himself.

"Well, I vote on Tony," Ruby pitched in, stopping the argument between the three. The three girls, Team AVHR and Blake looked at the girl, making her fidget nervously. "What?"

"Since when do you call him 'Tony'?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I... uh, h-he said that I can call him that," Ruby answered with adorable nervousness. The teens kept on looking at her, before Yang stepped forward and hugged her sister tightly. "My widdle sister's got a crush ~" she teased, crushing the poor girl in a tight grip. Ruby's face was tomato red at the hug and the teasing.

"Yang, stop! I don't have a crush! And get your chest fat off of my face!" Ruby screamed, trying to wriggle out of her sister's grip. Yang continued laughing as she gave her sister a bear hug.

The teens would've kept watching, but were drawn to the sound of the match starting.

Anthony drew out Eclipse Cutter while Pyrrha brouht out her shield and sword. Neither of them moved, trying to get a read on their opponent. Anthony knew that Pyrrha was skilled. He just didn't know how skilled. Whereas Pyrrha knew of his exploits against the Grimm army. So she knew that she shouldn't take this lightly.

After a few minutes, both of them had enough of waiting and charged at each other. Both of them clashed, Eclipse Cutter against Pyrrha's sword. Pyrrha quickly noted that her sword was slowly being cut through, shocking her. Anthony took that advantage and disengaged from the clash, striking out with a kick to her abdomen that left her a little winded. Anthony swung his sword in a downward motion, looking to disarm her quickly.

Pyrrha managed to roll out of the way and tried moving forward with her shield, trying to bash his face. Anthony stopped the strike with the guard of Eclipse Cutter. Despite not looking like it, his sword was sturdy and durable enough to stop the strike, though his arms shook slightly.

Pyrrha grinned, liking the excitement that came with fighting. Anthony grinned back.

Moving back slightly, Anthony managed to move very quickly, his cybernetics helping him. He slashed diagonally, hacking into Pyrrha's armoured shoulder and cutting her slightly. The Spartan girl grunted from the strike, moving out of the way quickly before she could suffer more damage. She then pointed her sword forward and charged.

Narrowing his eyes, Anthony wondered why she was going for a simple charge. Swinging his sword ominously, he saw as Pyrrha was slowly reaching him. As she got closer, he swung, going for a sweep at her legs. Not being deterred, Pyrrha jumped, stepping on the flat of his sword.

Shocking him, Anthony could do nothing but watch as Pyrrha kicked him in the chin, making him bite his tongue. Seeing the advantage, she pressed onward. As she swung her sword, she didn't notice Anthony bring his sword and go for an overhead strike. Her instincts honed from fighting managed to save her. Pyrrha ducked, forgoing her previous attack and moving out of the way.

Anthony grimaced, spitting out blood from his bit tongue. Instead of being angry, however, he grinned. "Okay, Red. You're good."

"Thank you," Pyrrha nodded. "And I can tell that you are very skilled as well. No one has made me get serious so quickly."

"Well, I'll be the first to beat you." Dashing forward, Anthony went for a strike, but stopped, puzzled.

That was due to his sword arm not being able to move. No, not his arm. His sword. It felt like something was overpowering him. Not only his sword, but his armour was also acting weird, constricting him.

Due to not being able to move, Pyrrha smirked. She went for a slash at his chest. Not knowing what was happening to him but not wanting to get hit, Anthony used his sub-Semblance to release an electric shock from his body. The electricity shocked Pyrrha due to her sword conducting the electricity and flowing into her. She cried out in pain as she disengaged from her charge.

Something that Anthony noted was that he was now able to move again. Sword arm and body. Taking advantage of that, Anthony's legs buzzed with electricity as he moved quickly. Still recovering from her shock, Pyrrha only managed to raise her shield to block Anthony's sword swing, that managed to cut through it. Eyes wide, Pyrrha was susceptible to the hilt slam that hit her stomach, winding her. This was followed by the roundhouse kick that knocked her off her feet and made her land on her back.

Groaning, Pyrrha opened her eyes, only to see Anthony raising his sword, possibly to finish the match. Using her Semblance, she halted his movements. Anthony growled as the same thing from before happened again. Pyrrha was able to get on her feet and move out of the way, slashing at his sword arm and armoured torso. The slashes were light, only aiming to incapacitate rather than kill.

Anthony grunted as he dropped his sword, his cybernetic armour protecting him from harm. It was able to hold up, but probably not for long. He tried to figure out why the same thing was happening again. He knew that it was Pyrrha's doing, so it must be her Semblance. But what was it? Was it telekinesis? Or something else?

As he kept getting attacked, he inspected himself, trying to figure out what was wrong. And then he noted the black hue that surrounded his armour.

 _It's the armour_ , Anthony thought as he gave an electric shock again, shocking his attacking opponent and moving out of the way. _She's controlling the armour, making me unable to move. But how? I doubt it's telekinesis, otherwise she would control my actual body rather than my armour. And my sword and armour are made of different materials, except being of a similar_ _metallic alloy that..._ _that's it!_

With a mental command, he dismissed his armour, moving it off his body and far away from him. He activated his wrist-mounted missile darts that sent mini-missiles at Pyrrha to keep her busy. Shocked at the bizarre move, she tried to move as she dodge each one, giving Anthony time.

Mind made up, Anthony surrounded himself in a lightning field. Despite not looking like it, Anthony was very smart, almost genius-level. He had to be to create the inventions that he did. So he figured out the secret to Pyrrha's Semblance, it being Polarity. So he quickly created an electromagnetic field around him that would cancel any magnetic fields around him.

Nodding, Anthony dashed towards Pyrrha, who managed to dodge the mini-missiles. Seeing him charge towards her, she used her Semblance to try to control the wrist missile launchers that Anthony was wearing, but was shocked that it didn't work. That shock allowed Anthony to moved quickly and give her a powerful punch to the face, shocking her. He followed it up with a kick to her leg, tripping her. Her fall allowed Anthony to follow it up with an uppercut that knocked the consciousness out of her. She almost flew upwards, then landed on the ground, knocked out.

Anthony dismissed his lightning, breathing heavily. Seeing his opponent knocked out, he knew that he won the match. And Glynda walked forward, looking impressed at the fight.

"The match has ended," Glynda called out to the students, then pointed to the board that showed Anthony's and Pyrrha's Aura levels. Both had a little fuel left in the tank, but since Pyrrha was knocked out and unable to continue, Anthony was the winner. "Due to Ms. Nikos being unconscious, Mr. Black has won the match."

The students were wide-eyed at the amazing match, before breaking out into applause, cheering. Ruby was clapping and cheering for Anthony. Meanwhile Yang looked smug as she collected her Lien from a disgruntled Nora. Weiss was frowning that her prediction was wrong. Team AVHR just nodded, having expected the outcome.

Anthony just smiled, having enjoyed the fight.

 **Done!**

 **First, before anything, I just want to talk to you all... about the new episode of RWBY that came out last week. I fucking knew that Jaune's Semblance was going to be healing. Least he upgraded himself from somewhat lovable character to White Mage status. Also, poor Weiss.**

 **And the reveal of Raven actually being the Spring Maiden was a goddamn plot twist that I didn't expect. Like, at all! Really looking forward to the next Volume!**

 **Sigh, now the chapter. We have Team AVHR learning the ropes of Beacon, Weiss and Ruby fighting, Anthony giving Weiss a very needed wake-up call, and the fight between Anthony and Pyrrha.**

 **My fight scenes in this fic won't be as good as the one's in RWBY, at least in my opinion. Or maybe they will be as I keep writing, who knows?**

 **Pretty sure you all know what happens next chapter, so I won't go into it. Thanks to all those who f,f, r and r the story. Luv y'all soooo much!**

 **Read and Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Teams AVHR, RWBY and JNPR were seated in the cafeteria, with Nora entertaining the teams with a dream that she had recently. Pyrrha, Thor, Ren and Ruby were pretty much the only ones listening, while the rest were busy with their own devices. For Anthony, that was literal.

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..."

"It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai…," Nora said while Blake was lost in one of her books.

"They were Beowolves," Ren said in his usual deadpan voice and drank some coffee.

"Dozens of them!" Nora suddenly yelled out dramatically as she stood on the table, with Weiss not reacting as she filed her nails and Jaune poking at his food.

"Two of them," Ren groaned as Thor chuckled, liking the girl's story. Sometimes he and Nora were so similar to each other that it wasn't funny. Team AVHR and Ren shuddered at the thought of the two of them working together.

"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora said proudly as she raised a fist in the air.

Thor applauded in appreciation as Ren groaned. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

"How do you put up with her?" Clint asked in amusement.

"Years of practice, and somehow, it never bores me," Ren answered as Nora happily hugged and "booped" him on his nose.

"Hey Jaune. Are you okay?" Pyrrha questioned her partner and leader, snapping him out of his stupor.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Jaune said quickly before noticing how everyone was looking at him. "Why?"

"It's just that you seem a little… not okay…," Ruby noted with the others agreeing.

"That dumbass Cardin still bothering you?" Anthony asked, finished with his tinkering.

"…Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" He gave a thumbs up and a forced smile with a nervous laugh.

"Right~" Yang deadpanned skeptically until the sound of laughter was heard.

Everyone then turned their attention to Team CRNL, standing around a girl with long brown hair with rabbit ears sticking out as Cardin and his team laughed and bothered her as Sky Lark holding up his hands to his head to mock her rabbit ears.

The Faunus had long brown hair with the rabbit ears of course, brown eyes, fair skin, and a small slender frame. She wore the Beacon Academy female school uniform.

None of the teams were happy about this. Anthony in particular was growling as a particular memory came to him. One that he didn't like to remember.

 _Flashback_

 _"No! Don't destroy them!" a twelve-year-old Anthony screamed as he saw a couple of older boys break his invention. He had worked so hard on it, and now these-these bullies were destroying it._

 _He was currently being held back by an older boy that had a tight grip on him. He - along with the others breaking his creation - grinned and laughed as Anthony was crying._

 _The invention in particular was a small animated robot that Anthony put a lot of effort into without his Semblance. It was something that he had created because he felt lonely. He had no friends because he was a shut-in who preferred to stay in and build stuff with technology. Sure, he had A. .N.A.L., but it wasn't the same._

 _While he was playing with his invention, a couple of bullies came by and started teasing and harassing him. Then when they noticed his mini-robot, they started destroying it._

 _"Heh," smirked a large kid that stomped on the robot, crushing it under his boot. "Does the little nerd like his toys? Why don't we play with them, then?"_

 _The other boys kept stomping on the destroyed creation, Anthony having to watch and struggle._

 _"No, stop! Please!" Anthony cried, tears coming to his eyes as the bullies laughed cruelly and kept on taunting. Seeing the robot in practically pieces, Anthony had enough. "I said stop!"_

 _At his shout, the air became charged with static, and a build-up of electricity was released, knocking the boys off their feet._

 _Flashback End_

Anthony was knocked out of memory lane as the cries from the Faunus girl became louder.

"Ow! That hurts!" the bunny girl wailed as Cardin pulled on her rabbit ears. "Please, stop!"

"I told you it was real!" Cardin crowed cruelly as he pulled harder.

"What a freak!" Russel Thrush guffawed with his fellow cronies.

"Atrocious. I can't stand people like him." Pyrrha said as she glared at the scene while Yang cracked her knuckles loudly.

"He's not the only one...," Blake said as she glared daggers at Cardin as unpleasant memories surfaced.

"Hahahaha- Gah!"

Suddenly Cardin's laughter turned into a cry of pain as his he felt his wrist with his hand crushing the rabbit ears being crushed and looked to find a hand that belonged to Anthony, surprising everyone witnessing, and wondering how he got there so fast.

Team AVHR had seen Anthony move, but were shocked at the fact that he stood up, since he was a huge introvert and would rather not be involved in situations that didn't involve him. They were further shocked by the amount of fury in the technopath's eyes.

"G-Get off me- ARGH!" Cardin screamed as his wrist was being crushed. He winced as he felt electricity shoot through his body, zapping him.

Anthony didn't say anything for a moment, applying more pressure into his hand that had Cardin almost cry out and being forced to kneel.

"Get off hi-" the other members of Team CRNL shouted, trying to save their leader. They were stopped dead as Anthony held Eclipse Cutter in their direction, which was crackling with red lightning and glowing slightly.

Anthony didn't even face them as he kept crushing Cardin's hand. The rabbit Faunus looked confused but happy at Anthony as he kept squeezing.

"You make me sick," he finally spoke, taking joy in the pain on Cardin's face. "You think it's okay to pick on people just because you can? Because it amuses you? I should slice off your hand right now. Or better yet..." Anthony put more electricity into his hand, crushing Cardin's wrist to the point where there was a loud SNAP. The other students winced as Cardin screamed in pain.

"Anthony Black!" Glynda arrived, looking angry at the scene. "Release Mr. Winchester this instant!"

With a final growl, Anthony released Cardin, leaving the boy to quickly scurry to his team while cradling his wrist. Anthony turned to face Glynda with a blank stare. He had known she was here the entire time as his enhanced senses had detected her. She was there when the Faunus girl was being tormented and had done nothing, but when Anthony had stood up for her then she decided to act. On that fact alone he was already very displeased with her.

"You are coming with me to speak to Ozpin about your actions Mr. Black," spoke Glynda with some command. Anthony just scoffed. "No."

"Excuse me?" Glynda narrowed her eyes, looking more angry at his response. "Did I hear you right? Did you just say 'no'?"

"You heard me," Anthony snarled. "You try to punish me when I stepped up for someone in need, but don't step up when Cardin was bullying her? Fuck no. I refuse to listen or abide by someone who is racist."

"I am _not_ racist!" Glynda snapped, furious at the accusation while the other students watched the scene. Some in awe. Others in fear.

"Really?" Anthony scoffed. "Because your actions say otherwise." He then turned to look at the Faunus girl in question. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.

She nodded nervously. "Y-Yes, I am. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome. If Cardin or anyone else bothers you, tell me, okay?"

The Faunus nodded, beaming.

Anthony then turned to look at the fuming Glynda. "I'll go to Ozpin. But when someone else comes to pick me up. I wouldn't want a _racist_ to twist the truth and lie about what happened. And until Cardin and his goons are punished, I refuse to attend any detention or carry out with any punishment given."

And with that, Anthony left the cafeteria, the eyes of the students following him.

 **XXX**

As he lay in his dorm, Anthony was trying to get rid of his stewing anger. He didn't know why he acted the way he di- no, he actually did know. It was because the similarities between him and that girl were painfully obvious in his eyes. He didn't regret his actions, though. Not even with Goodwitch getting on his case.

At his remembering the teacher, he snarled. Just who the hell did she think she was to boss him around when the clear sign of discrimination was going on?! He thought that the teachers were supposed to help students, but clearly he was wrong.

The rest of his teammates hadn't come back to the dorm, wanting to give him some space. He appreciated their efforts and wanted to pay them back for it.

A knock on the door broke Anthony out of his thoughts. Glowering, he stood up to check who it was threw a small hole in the door. He saw that it was Professor Port. At least it was a teacher that he didn't mind.

With a sigh, he opened the door and greeted the teacher. "Professor Port, how do you do?" he welcomed politely.

"Mr. Black, a pleasure to see you," Port nodded jovially. "I was sent to retrieve you due to a complaint that Glynda had placed. Something about harming another student?"

"Whatever lie that you were told about the situation, don't believe it," Anthony said immediately, scowling.

Port frowned. "Now, Mr. Black. I'd advise not accusing my associate of-"

"I guess she didn't tell you of the fact that I defended a Faunus from being bullied by other students, only to be rebuked?"

"There was mention of that," Port admitted. "Still, you aren't doing yourself any favours by going against Glynda."

"Then maybe she shouldn't show such blatant favouritism," Anthony responded, before sighing. "Look. I'll have this argument with Ozpin. You can take me to him now."

Nodding with a curious look on his face, Port led the technopath to Ozpin's office.

 **XXX**

"So you see Ozpin, this boy needs to be punished for his actions," finished Glynda, after a semi-long rant. Ozpin took another sip of his coffee before looking at a seated Anthony across from him. Port stood behind him, frowning.

"Is that what happenend, Mr. Black?" Ozpin asked as he stared at the boy.

Anthony scoffed. "Hardly."

"Care to elaborate?" Ozpin questioned as Glynda frowned.

"Gladly. Miss Goodwitch didn't tell you my reasons for starting the fight. I only confronted Cardin and his team because he was bullying a rabbit Faunus girl by pulling on her ears, despite her pleading with him to stop. Miss Goodwitch saw all of this yet did nothing so I decided to act instead. With all due respect sir, I don't see what I did wrong. I helped someone who was in need. I stopped any bullying of a student. In short, I did Miss Goodwitch's job for her." At Glynda's furious glare, Anthony still continued. "Sir, students are here to kill Grimm and protect people, be they Faunus or human."

"Punishment is up for the teacher's to decide Mr. Black, not the students," responded Glynda.

"Then you have a lousy judgement," Anthony said. " I stood up for someone while everyone else did nothing, including you. I have done nothing. You can exclude me, but you ain't changing my mind." At the end of his statement, he met the gaze of a surprised Glynda in challenge. Before she could say anything, Ozpin spoke.

"Those are powerful words, Mr. Black. I can see where you are coming from, but next time please don't completely injure one of my students. Now you may go."

Confused but not complaining at the odd turn of events, Anthony stood up and nodded in thanks to Ozpin. Then he left the room. Though not before closing the door and immediately leaning in to listen to the chewing out that Goodwitch was going to receive.

"What was that Ozpin?! That boy assaulted four students and basically threatened to cause serious harm to one!" demanded Glynda.

"All of which could have been avoided if you had stopped Mr. Winchester from tormenting Miss Scarletina in the first place," Ozpin rebutted. Anthony could only imagine the stern look on Ozpin's face. It was even more funny since Goodwitch seemed to be the stern and strict kind of teacher, and yet she was being scolded.

"I know you don't want to show favouritism, Glynda," Ozpin continued. "But doing nothing shows favouritism as well. Mr. Black stepped in to help a fellow student who was facing discrimination. Not even the risk of expulsion will dissuade him from doing such an act again, I believe. He has the potential to become something great Glynda and maybe, just maybe his actions and views could help mend the rift between human and Faunus. For now all we can do is observe and make sure Mr. Winchester doesn't get on his bad side enough to warrant him being sent to the hospital."

As Anthony quietly snickered to himself, he almost jumped out of his skin when someone whispered behind him. "So, what ya doin'?"

Slowly, Anthony looked to see his team, along with Teams RWBY and JNPR, standing behind him. He saw that it was Ruby who had whispered.

"Listening in on Goodwitch being chewed out. You?"

"Looking for you," she answered. "Ever since you blew up at Miss Goodwitch, we haven't seen you since. Then Ren saw you being taken to Professor Ozpin's office by Professor Port, who then told us. So, are you alright?"

"Yep," Anthony cheerfully answered. "Seriously, was there ever any doubt?"

"Yes." "Definitely." "Thought you were a goner." "Of course." "I had no hope." The rest of Team AVHR, Weiss and Yang answered.

Anthony's eyebrow twitched violently. "I hate you all."

"How about we discuss this in the dorm rooms?" Ren suggested.

"Good idea," Thor nodded. And so they all shuffled into Team AVHR's dorm room.

As the teams sat down, all of the students were decided on what to say. Thor broke the silence by clapping Anthony on the back. "Well, I congratulate you, friend. Stepping up to aid a maiden against other students? You make me proud!"

"Uh, thanks?" Anthony said, though it sounded like a question.

"Yeah, but that stuff with Goodwitch must have sucked. I mean Cardin and his groupies were asking for it so you getting in trouble for them being idiots would be kind of dumb," stated Yang. She along with the others were pretty upset at the fact that Anthony was probably going to get in trouble for defending someone who Cardin was tormenting.

"But are you alright, Anthony?" Pyrrha asked, concerned.

Anthony smiled. "I'm fine, Pyrrha. Surprisingly, Ozpin agreed with me and I got off scot-free. But if I do get punishment from Goodwitch, I won't go to it or do it. I'm not getting in trouble for doing the right thing."

"You're so cool, Techy Boy!" Nora exclaimed, stars in his eyes. "Ooh! Ooh! I want to ditch punishments, too!" She was then bopped on the head by Ren.

"... Techy Boy?" Anthony asked, annoyed.

"What she means to say is it's nice to see your fine and not gonna be punished for helping that girl out," said Ren with a small smile that Anthony returned.

Before anything else could be said there was a knock at the door drawing everyone's attention. Curious, Anthony got up and opened the door, only to find himself staring down at a fedora wearing girl with sunglasses and short brown hair with the rabbit Faunus - he remembered her name was Velvet - he helped earlier in the cafeteria looking at him nervously from behind the one in front of him.

"Can I help you?" Anthony asked with a raised eyebrow.

Said girl pulled her glasses down a bit and he could see her brown eyes look him up and down a bit with a calculative gaze. Behind him the other's were looking over Jaune's shoulder at the new girl. Finally after a minute the girl pushed her glasses back up and looked back at the rabbit Faunus.

"Gotta say Velvet, you're knight in shining armour is a looker," she said with a smirk. This made Velvet's ears go ramrod straight and her face to go red.

Anthony blushed a little but offered a grin. "Well, thank you very much. You're not too bad yourself Miss..."

"Name's Coco Adel, big guy. I just stopped by to see you for myself since my partner here wouldn't stop going on and on about how you helped her with those clowns that were harassing her earlier. So thanks for that. Not many would have done what you did and stand up to Goodwitch," said Coco, a hint of respect and interest in her tone at the end.

"Someone had to do it. I just so happened to be the one," shrugged Anthony.

"Wow, good looking, kind, strong and modest?" Team AVHR scoffed at the 'modest' part. "You sure know how to pick them Velvet. Well I've seen what I've needed to so we'll be going now. But take this and be sure to call us up anytime," said Coco with a wink at the end. She then handed him a slip of paper with hers and Velvet's scroll numbers. She then walked off and dragging a stuttering rabbit Faunus with her. "Sorry about that! Thank you!" Velvet called out.

"No problem," Anthony responded with a smile. As soon as both of them were out of view, Anthony closed the door and grinned widely at the others. "Woohoo! He shoots, he scores!" Anthony celebrated, pumping his fist in the air.

Clint just shook his head. "Yeah, yeah. So Repair Boy's a hero and now a girl is interested in him? I pity her."

"You're just jealous that I've got game and you don't," Anthony responded back.

"You didn't help her just to get her number, right?" Pyrrha asked, worried.

Anthony shook his head, still grinning. "Nope! I genuinely wanted to help her. Plus, I didn't want the same thing to happen again." He whispered the last sentence to himself. The others were curious as to what he whispered, but Anthony spoke again, louder this time. "Wasn't going for the knight-in-shining-armour approach, but works for me!"

"Seriously?" Jaune questioned, jealous. "How come it's so easy for you?"

"Simple. I got a brass pair of balls," Anthony responded. He grinned at Jaune. "I'm a better ladies man than you, Vomit Boy. Deal with it."

"Wait, what do balls have to do with all this?" Ruby asked innocently. Everyone stopped and stared at the girl that was displaying so much innocence that it should be illegal.

Not wanting to deal with an innocent Ruby - who would want to? - all the teens turned to look at Anthony for him to explain it.

 _Cowards!_ he mentally accused. He made to say something when he looked at the burning gaze of Yang that was trained on him. It was the kind of gaze that said 'I will snap you in half if you dare break my baby sister's innocence'. All of Anthony's words choked in his mouth as he gulped.

"Tony?" Ruby cutely whined. "What did you mean by 'brass balls'?"

With the gazes both sisters were giving him - one furious and the other innocent - Anthony literally could do nothing. If he told Ruby, he'd face Yang and be beaten into a bloody pulp. If he didn't tell her, Ruby's cuteness would kill him faster than her sister could.

"Screw it," Anthony muttered, before running out of the room like a mad man. Everyone looked at the place where he previously was.

When Ruby turned her innocent gaze towards them, and Yang did the same with her 'mother hen' glare, the others followed Anthony's example.

 **XXX**

 _Military and General Studies Class_

Anthony was stumped. Along with the rest of his team. The reason why? It was because of the fact that their teacher was acting like a squirrel with ADHD high on meth. Okay, extreme exaggeration, but the sight before them was shocking. How the hell did the teacher zip around the classroom while teaching and sipping a cup of coffee?

The teacher in question is Bartholomew Oobleck, a tall man with messy green hair, brown eyes with opaque-looking glasses, fair skin, and wearing disheveled attire with his white shirt with a raised collar partially tucked into his dark green pants, a slack yellow tie, and mismatched brown and black shoes.

Taking his eyes off Oobleck for a second to prevent himself from getting dizzy just from watching him while he lectured, Anthony looked around the classroom, seeing Velvet, whom he's sitting on his left, taking notes; Jaune who was fast asleep with Cardin leaning back on his chair right behind him; Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha paying attention, and Yang and Ruby quite… dizzy-eyed and confused at the same time. Shaking his head in amusement, Anthony turned his attention back to the teacher. Thor, Bruce and Clint were on his right.

" _This_ is prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War! ***Zip*** Humankind was quite, quite _adamant_ about centralising Faunus population in Menagerie. ***Zip*** _Siiip._ ***Zip*** Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you ***Zip*** , it is imperative to remember ***Zip*** that these are relatively _recent_ events! ***Zip*** Why, the repercussions of the uprising ***Zip*** can still be seen to this day! ***Zip*** _Siiip._ Now! ***Zip*** Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

Some of the students raised their hands, including Velvet after a moment. Anthony did notice that Blake had a guilty expression on her face, before wiping it away.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is _precisely_ this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! _Siiip._ I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! ***Zip*** Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorise to be the turning point ***Zip*** in the third year of the War?" Oobleck questioned the class, and saw Weiss raise her hand. "Yes?"

"The Battle at Fort Castle!" Weiss answered confidently, and was pleased when Oobleck nodded.

"Precisely!" Oobleck responded, who zipped back to desk during the answer. " _And_ who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Meanwhile, Jaune was still snoring until he was hit on the head by a paper football Cardin flicked at him, rudely waking him up.

"Hey!" Jaune protested, which drew the attention of Oobleck who zoomed over in front of his face.

"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"

"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... of the Faunus...," Jaune started, mirroring Weiss' confidence before faltering, and looked behind Oobleck's face to see a couple of his classmates trying to help him.

Pyrrha silently coughed and motioned to her mouth, trying to give him the answer.

"...had over that guy's stuff..." Jaune continued. Clint took pity on the guy, so he held up a banner with the words 'NIGHT VISION' right in the middle and was waving it comically. "Oh! Night vision!" he finished, speaking with his earlier confidence.

"Very good, Mr. Arc! Very good!" Mr. Oobleck congratulated, sipping his coffee. "But next time, be sure to stay awake during class."

"Y-yes, sir," Jaune nodded while Cardin clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Hearing this, Mr. Oobleck turned to look at him. "Cardin! Perhaps _you_ would care to share your thoughts on the subject?!"

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an _animal_ than a soldier." Cardin replied with a hint of malice as he looked at Velvet when he said it, much to the disapproval of Oobleck who shook his head. Anthony moved and blocked his view of a miserable Velvet, sneering at him and Blake levelled Cardin with a glare.

Bruce scoffed. "Funny, considering that you're intelligence is lower than that of the base Grimm. Wonder how long it'd take to train you."

"Burn," Clint snickered, high-fiving his teammate.

The class laughed at that retort. "What was that, freak?" Cardin snapped in a threatening tone.

"What, you hard of hearing? I called you a dumbass, dumbass." At Bruce's words, Anthony, Yang, Clint and Jaune laughed loudly, getting Cardin to growl.

Cardin growled and nearly got up at that.

"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat." Oobleck commanded. "Mr. Banner, please do not use such language in my class." At the word 'language', Oobleck's eyes shifted to Anthony.

Anthony's eyes narrowed. "Oi, what the fuck did I do- oh." The technopath paused his sentence as others were now laughing and Oobleck was glaring at him.

"Professor Port warned me of your... vocabulary during his class. You and your team please watch your words."

"Sorry." Anthony and Bruce called out, though neither of them looked sorry.

"Now, moving on!" Oobleck declared and zoomed away.

A while later, the lesson ended, and the class filed out.

"You're lucky that you received help, Jaune," Pyrrha told him when they were leaving. "Otherwise you'd end up like Cardin."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Jaune snapped slightly, surprising the others. "I'm just... slow."

"That's an understatement," Clint scoffed, making Anthony snicker slightly.

"Do you need help?" Pyrrha offered. "I can make time for you and-"

"No!" Jaune denied quickly. "Uh, sorry. Really, it's okay. I'll... see you guys later." And with that, Jaune pressed ahead, heading off into a particular place.

"What's with him?" Anthony asked.

"I-I don't know," Pyrrha frowned. "Jaune hasn't acted like this before."

"Yeah. Our fearless leader is acting not-so-fearless at the moment," Nora spoke, pulling out a pancake from her battle skirt. Because why not?

"It is rather odd to see Jaune like this," Ren commented.

"I'll go check on him," Pyrrha said, determined.

"I'll join you," Anthony offered. "Vomit Boy may be... well, an idiot, but I kinda pity the guy."

Bruce scoffed. "Please, you're just offering because of Py-" He was interrupted by Anthony kicking him in his shin. Hard. Bruce held his leg in both hands as he hopped up and down comically.

"Anyways," Anthony continued, a charming smile on his face, "let's go find him."

"Sure," Pyrrha smiled, pleased. And so the two walked off in the direction of Jaune, Anthony taking note of Pyrrha's swaying backside.

"Horndog," Bruce muttered as both of his teammates chuckled.

 **XXX**

While Ruby and Weiss headed off to the library, with the latter wanting to help the former study, Yang and Blake had the dorm all to themselves. As Yang finished up a report for Port's class, she couldn't help but notice her partner's dark mood ever since Ooblock's class after Cardin's "animal" comment.

"Blake, are you okay? I can literally smell the dark aura radiating off you," Yang noted as she turned to her.

"No. I just wish that people like Cardin would disappear. Their words and actions justify the White Fang's current state of mind, which makes life harder for other Faunus," Blake growled out as she snapped her book shut.

"Don't let his words get to you. Bullies like him are all talk with no bite, making them great punching bags. Chances are that he'll get his ass kicked like he did with Shy Guy," Yang said confidently as she strode over to Blake and sat down next to her.

"Glad to see that I'm not the only one who hates him," Blake said as Yang smiled.

"There's nothing wrong with hating people like him. You just have to not let it get out of control so it won't burn anyone else. Let me and Anthony deal with him and the like-minded idiots like him. It's the least we can do for you and Velvet."

"Wh-What are you talking about? Me and Velvet? I'm not a Faunus," Blake said quickly while getting nervous when Yang put her arm around her.

"It's okay Blake. I'm not Cardin. Your secret's safe with me. Besides, when I first saw you, you did remind me of a stray black cat. Colour me surprised when I felt your ears when you fell asleep on me during the first night here," Yang said, making Blake flinch.

"That was a-a mistake," Blake whispered, trying to get away, but Yang held on to her tight.

"I said I'm not Cardin! You can trust me. We're friends, partners, and teammates all in one, remember?" Yang said as Blake's heart started beating fast. "It doesn't matter if you're human or Faunus, I'll never betray you Blake. That's a promise."

Blake didn't know what to think as Yang drew her in for a hug. Her first instinct was to run away so she wouldn't deal with the fact that someone knew her secret. Then she thought all the times she and Yang were together after remembering that Yang said that she knew about her being a Faunus since the first night at Beacon.

Yang didn't treat her any different. She treated her like a friend, and always had her back in everything. They laughed, joked, studied, and sparred together. Yang saw her for who Blake is: just a person and not as a Faunus.

Blake smiled as she leaned into Yang. Maybe she can count on her after all.

 **XXX**

 _Dorm Rooftop, Midnight..._

"Pyrrha, Anthony, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not _that_ depressed," Jaune groaned. He looked over the rooftop, after both of them brought him up to the rooftop. "I can always be a farmer or something..."

Anthony realized what Jaune was saying and smacked his head, muttering, "Idiot…", while Pyrrha's realization hit her with horror.

"N-n-no!" she exclaimed as she pulled him away, "That's not why we brought you up here! Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so..."

"We're going to make you better," Anthony told him with blunt honesty.

"Wh-What?" Jaune asked, surprised.

"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah," Anthony nodded. "Pyrrha can teach you how to use a sword, since my skills would be a bit... complex for you. But I can train you in other ways. I have technology that is light-years beyond what Atlas could hope to achieve. I can use it to train you. Plus, I have a little momento that I want to give you..."

"You guys think I need help?" Jaune asked quietly.

"N-no! No, that's not what we meant-" Pyrrha started, but Anthony cut across her. "Yes, you do. Like, serious help. In fact, you'll need a miracle to even survive." At his words, Pyrrha glared at him, but Anthony shrugged. It was true.

"But I-"

"Jaune, what Anthony is trying to say is that everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of, and your potential!" Pyrrha praised him, but Jaune shook his head.

"You're wrong. I-I don't belong here," Jaune said as he turned away from them.

Anthony frowned, noticing that Jaune was hiding something. Something big. "Jaune, what aren't you telling us?"

"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!" Pyrrha chided while reaching out to Jaune, but he pulled away, frustrated.

"No, I don't! I wasn't really… accepted into Beacon...," Jaune muttered, but it was loud enough for Anthony and Pyrrha.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, bewildered as Anthony turned Jaune around roughly so he could face them and not hide.

"How are you here if you weren't accepted into Beacon?" Anthony asked, bewildered as Pyrrha.

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't _earn_ my spot at this Academy! I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!" Jaune confessed in a high voice.

"... What?" Anthony said after a moment, narrowing his eyes after a moment. This was big. This meant that Jaune wasn't meant for Beacon. No, scratch that. It meant that he could _die_ at Beacon. Pyrrha was stunned.

"It's because _this_ is always what I've wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough." Jaune explained quickly and turned away again.

"Honorable as your intentions may be, did you even _try_ apply for combat school, or thought to take early training courses?" Anthony asked with strained calm while keeping Pyrrha from saying anything with a raised hand.

"No, I didn't… All I did was go to an academic school, and was scared," Jaune admitted. Anthony scoffed and sneered.

"Are you fucking mental?" he hissed, making Jaune cower slightly. His fear just made Anthony even more annoyed. "Sneaking into an advanced Hunters training facility with faked transcripts is like asking for a death wish! It just means that you managed to survive so far with pure luck! No, not luck. It's basically asking for a higher power to fuck you over."

Anthony calmed down, though he visibly struggled. Pyrrha and Jaune looked worriedly and fearfully at him.

"Okay, I'm calm," Anthony breathed out. "I'm calm. Let's start this again. Despite faking your way into Beacon, I'm impressed at the balls that you have. Foolishness aside, you have guts, something I can respect. Okay, new plan: give me and Pyrrha two weeks, at best. You can catch up with the others in no time, guaranteed."

"That's right. Together, we can do this! You can do this!" Pyrrha added, as she wanted her partner to succeed with her.

"You guys don't get it! I don't _want_ help! I don't _want_ to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!" Jaune said blurted out with mad frustration, throwing the other two off.

"Jaune?!" Pyrrha asked in shock.

"Dear Oum, can't you make things simple?" Anthony groaned, facepalming.

"I'm _tired_ of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own... then what good am I?"

Anthony blinked, then chuckled, confusing the others. "And how's that working out for you?" he sneered.

"Anthony, that's-" "No, Pyrrha," Anthony refuted seriously. He then looked at Jaune. "You're being stupid. Even more stupid than before. What can you possibly do on your own? Here you have two of the best first-years offering to train you, and you reject them? How are you going to do anything on your own when all you do is sleep in class?" Jaune flinched at that thrown in his face.

"Anthony, verbally berating him isn't going to help. He's just under a lot of pressure," Pyrrha said, but Anthony shook his head in disagreement.

"Pressure? Pyrrha, he's under no pressure at all. The only thing burdening him is his stupidity and laziness. He says that he's going to succeed on his own, yet where's the effort? The promise?"

"I am! I'm just pacing myself!" Jaune yelled at him.

Anthony just looked at him, saying nothing for a few minutes. Which made Jaune uncomfortable. In the end, he sighed. "Jaune. Let me put it to you this way: you are pathetic," Jaune flinched, "lazy," flinch, "retarded," flinch, "and weak-minded. Now, despite all of that, despite your inability to swallow your pride, if you agree, I am willing to help you and spend my valuable time trying to better yourself. I'm not offering anything like this again, so be sensible about this."

"Jaune, please?" Pyrrha said with a hint of pleading.

"For the last time, no. I'll be fine on my own. I'll prove that I can do fine on my own. Don't waste your time on me. This is my family legacy." Jaune said with finality, "Just, leave me alone, okay?"

"If that's what you think is best…" Pyrrha muttered and walked away with a hurt look on her face.

When Pyrrha walked away, Anthony just looked at Jaune. "You know that Pyrrha really cares about you. You're probably one of the first friends she's had in a long time, and she's trying to help you so you can live longer. If - no, _when -_ you die against a Grimm or something else, she'll be devastated and blame it on herself. Me? I'll just laugh at your corpse and say it was due to your stupidity. Because that's what it is, Jaune. Not pride, stupidity."

"I'm doing this-" Jaune weakly interjected, but was cowered by Anthony's glare.

"You want to know the saddest thing about you? You managed to scrape a place here by the skin of your teeth, whereas others struggled to come here. And when you are here, you don't even better yourself. You don't try. You don't practice. You just leave everything to chance. If you don't change soon enough, you are going to be - and always will be - useless. As a Huntsman and in life."

With those harsh words, Anthony walked away, leaving Jaune all alone.

 **Finished. This was a bit hard to get out, since my RWBY juices have slowed down. Since Volume 5 finished, I've been craving more RWBY. So I'm a little stumped. Will try to produce more chapters quickly.**

 **So, chapter review time. We get a little view into Anthony's past (sad as it was) and him saving Velvet like a knight in shining armour. Then him standing up to Goodwitch and getting no punishment. The scene with Yang and Blake was put in because I liked their dynamics in later episodes and felt that Yang knowing of Blake's Faunus status earlier would make sense. Finally, we get Anthony and Pyrrha trying to help Jaune, only to get rejected. Probably the only incident where I didn't like Jaune.**

 **A little notice, I'll add more layers onto Anthony and the rest of Team AVHR and their backstories. Since they're my OCs, I can run wild with my imagination. Also, have you guys seen Black Panther? I did, and it was FUCKING AWESOME! No spoilers, but I'm very tempted to ste- I mean, _borrow_ a few ideas from the film.**

 **Couple of things: for the Guest reviewer that commented on the relations between Anthony, Mercury and Marcus Black. At first I said they weren't related, but maybe I could make it so that they are related. It'd make an interesting backstory and something I can play with. So I'm changing it.**

 **And I'm leaning towards adding Cinder to the harem. Very tempted. I'd also like to add Nora, but I'm stuck as to who I should pair her with: Ren, Anthony, or Thor. What you think?**

 **Thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story. Again (for the fifty-seventh time, probably) love y'all.**

 **Read and Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

 **(Team JNPR's Dorm)**

"How come Jaune gets home so late?" Nora wondered outloud as she bounced up and down on her bed.

"He's become rather scarce since he started fraternizing with Cardin," Ren muttered as he cleaned his StormFlower.

"That's _weird_. ... Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our rest!" Nora proclaimed while twirling and flipping in the air after her last jump and landed back first on her bed.

"I'm sure our leader knows _exactly_ what he's doing," Pyrrha said angrily, still hurt that Jaune blew her and Anthony off, but that hurt turned to anger when she learned that Jaune was now hanging around Cardin instead of his own team. Cardin! It was inexcusable!

Ren and Nora exchanged glances as Pyrrha went to the bathroom to get changed into her pajamas, not knowing that Jaune was listening in through the crack of the door.

Jaune hung his head as he quietly closed the door. It's been days since his episode on the roof with Anthony and Pyrrha, and he's been suffering ever since. But not once has he had second thoughts about rejecting Anthony's and Pyrrha's help. He didn't want them wasting their time on him. He'll do just fine on his own, and if it means suffering under Cardin's tyranny to stay in Beacon to become a Huntsman like his father and grandfather, then so be it.

Just as he was about to leave, a hand was placed on his shoulder. Alarmed, he whirled around to see that it was Bruce. "Uh... Bruce! Nice to see you, pal! A-Anything I can do for you?" Jaune asked, trying and failing to hide his fear from being surprised.

Instead of saying anything, Bruce just beckoned with his hand. "Come with me. I want to tell you something."

Confused, Jaune followed him to the amphitheatre, where the two were alone. "S-So what did you want to talk to me about?" Jaune asked.

Bruce just gave him a knowing look, something that made Jaune fumble a bit. "I know that Cardin is blackmailing you into helping him," he started off, straight to the point.

Jaune's eyes widened at the statement, wondering as to how Bruce knew of that. "W-What?" He then scoffed. "That's ridiculous! Wh-"

"Don't lie to me, Jaune," Bruce interrupted, eyes flashing green. Jaune gulped at seeing that. "I know that Cardin has a hold over you. Possibly some secret that you hold dear to yourself. He's making you do things like his homework and taking the blame for trouble that you. I'm telling you that you shouldn't let him."

Jaune winced. He wasn't too far off the mark. He looked down dejectedly. "I-I can't. If I don't, Cardin's going to blab my secret to everyone. Ozpin, Goodwitch, my team... I have no choice."

Bruce continued to look at him, pity creeping into his eyes. "You know," he said, "Tony stormed into our dorm room, pissed. When we asked him what was wrong, all he said was that you were being a huge dumbass, who is too blind to see the opportunities in front of him. From what I was able to gather, he was trying to either help you with your problem, but you rejected him. Why?"

Jaune didn't want to repeat what he had said before. Looking back on it now, he could tell that, even now, he was being stupid. But his pride was blinding him, or maybe he was trying to convince himself. Nevertheless, he told the odikinetic metamorphic. "I... forged the transcripts to get into Beacon. I never went to combat school. I'm not even supposed to be here." His voice got more depressed as he spoke.

Bruce kept on looking at him with pity, though understanding became clear in his eyes as well. He was silent for a moment, digesting the information, before speaking. "And Anthony offered to help you with getting stronger, since you never went to combat school?"

Jaune nodded. "Him and Pyrrha. But I rejected both of them. I said that I could get by on my own strength, and no one else's."

"Then you're a fool." At Bruce's words, Jaune got angry. He made to speak, but Bruce glared him into silence. "You had two people who were willing to help you actually become somebody. Instead, you're nothing more than Cardin's bitch, to be blunt." Jaune winced at his words. He wasn't wrong. "Now I can see why Tony was pissed off at you. Look, Jaune. I can tell that you're a good kid with a good heart, but you are so incredibly naive and stupid. People with those qualities don't tend to survive long."

Jaune didn't say anything, so Bruce continued. "I understand that what I'm saying is easy to say, but actually difficult for you. I don't blame you. I was in your situation as well. Bullies blackmailed me to do their homework, bail them out of trouble, all of that stuff."

Jaune's eyes grew wide as he heard Bruce's story. The image of his Semblance was still in his mind, and it was a frightening image. And while his current form didn't aspire the same kind of fear, he didn't think that he was the type to get bullied. Like him. "Really?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes. I was exactly like you: weak, stubborn and lost. It was only thanks to Thor and Clint that I was able to stand on my own two feet. So I'm trying to do the same thing."

Jaune nodded slowly, digesting the information. Then he frowned. "But I'm not like you. I don't have anyone to help me. Pyrrha's mad at me, and I don't want to include Ren or Nora."

"And what about Ruby?" Jaune paused at that. "Or team RWBY? Despite not knowing them for long, you can tell that they're good people. Or even my team. Despite Tony's current attitude towards you, he's a good guy. No man is an island. If you need help, just ask. You only have to ask." With a pointed look at the last part, Bruce left Jaune alone, allowing him to think.

 **XXX**

 **(Forever Fall Forest, Next Day)**

Forever Fall, a forest bustling with red leaves and grey trunks, and the sight where the first-years team like RWBY, AVHR JNPR, and CRDL among others, are taking a field trip, with Glynda Goodwitch as their chaperone.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so," the teacher spoke along the way.

The group stops with Jaune, grunting and carrying a large case with six empty glass jars on top, tries to catch up with them and ended up bumping into Cardin, who scowled at Jaune, who whistled tunelessly to feign innocence. Anthony, and even Pyrrha, scowled at the sight. Bruce shook his head sadly.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock." Glynda instructed. "Have fun!"

"Oh, I'm going to have _so_ much fun," Clint muttered, bored out of his mind. Thor swatted him on the shoulder, nearly making him fall over. Anthony and Bruce chuckled as the archer glared at Thor, who whistled innocently.

Blake watched the byplay of the team with slight amusement. Ruby and Yang meanwhile toasted their jars with a smile, while Jaune attempted to sneak away from Team CRDL, but failed when he made too much noise and was caught.

"Come on buddy, let's go!" Cardin said as he and his team dragged Jaune away.

As he walked with them, Jaune looked over to the team he's supposed to be with, the team he suppose to lead, and saw that all three, Pyrrha, Rin, and Nora were waiting for them, gesturing for him to break away from Cardin and his team and be with them. Dropping his gaze, Jaune shook his head and instead followed Team CRDL, to the others' disappointment, and Pyrrha's extreme hurt, before following Team RWBY.

Bruce nudged Anthony, discretely pointing in Jaune's direction. Anthony just scoffed, shaking his head. Sighing, Bruce decided to follow him.

"You know that we have to follow him, right?" Thor whispered to Anthony.

The technopath looked at him incredulously. "He's an Oum-damned walking, talking rage machine. Why would we need to worry?"

"Because he's our teammate and comrade," Thor answered firmly. "Where he goes, we go."

Anthony looked to Clint, who shrugged helplessly. He sighed. "You're really taking this team thing seriously... fuck it." Tapping a button on his watch, he mentally recalled a flying droid to come and pick some sap for him and their team.

The three followed their teammate, the other teams looking at them go.

A while later, everyone was doing their part in collecting sap from the nearby trees. It was tedious task when trying to find the trees' sweet spot where lots of its sap was stored within. The droid produced retractable metal limbs to pick up the jar while using several instruments to pick up the sap. Weiss was about to stab a tree with her Myrtenaster, when Ruby stopped her and handed her a knife, saying that it was more practical and would prevent her snow-white rapier from getting sticky. Weiss felt the familiar, instinctual urge to complain, but squashed it when she looked in her leader and partner's eyes and accepted her reasoning with a grateful smile. It seemed like she had accepted Ruby as a full-fledged leader.

Yang on the other hand sliced into a tree that spurted out sap and sprayed Blake all over, making the hidden Cat Faunus less than amused. Yang was about to make an inappropriate joke but refrained from the slits in Blake's eyes. Wisely, she shut her mouth with a click.

As for Team CRDL, they were in different area far from the rest, making themselves as comfortable as possible by leaning on stones, trees, and the ground, while Jaune makes this way to the group with more than six full jars, setting them down and collapses face-down onto the ground, cueing the team of bullies to get up.

"Hey, great work, Jauney boy! Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Cardin said cheerfully.

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff...," Jaune groaned while cross-eyed and dizzy.

"Greeeeat, great, great," Cardin dismissed, not caring about his new lackey's state, "So, Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?', right?"

Jaune nodded as he slowly sat up. "That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes."

"Well, come with us, and you'll find out."

In another area far from Team RWBY, the three members of Team JNPR, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren were collecting their samples of sap. Ren filled a jar of sap and traded it to Nora for another empty one. He filled it up when she hears a licking sound from behind her, and turns to Nora with an embarrassed smile and an empty jar in her hands. Ren groaned and facepalmed. After filling the one he had, he attempted to fill the now empty jar, but there was no more sap in the tree. Jerking her head to the side, Ren and Nora went off to find another tree full of sap. Along the way, Nora was trying to catch Anthony's droid as it flew away. Not giving up, Nora tried to use the trees as platforms to jump higher, to no avail. Eventually, Ren got her to calm down, with great difficulty.

Little did they know that they were being watched by Team CRDL and Jaune behind a small hill.

"Uh Cardin, wh-what's going on?" Jaune questioned nervously.

Cardin just stared at the unsuspecting group with a glare. "Payback."

"Wha-? Pyrrha?" Jaune widened his eyes in horror as they watched her get more sap from a tree, "Wh-what are you-?"

"That's the girl. Red-haired know-it-all, thinks she's so smart." Cardin growled as he pounded his fist on the ground before pulling out a buzzing cardboard box with a large "W" written on its sides. "Too bad the green freak isn't here, otherwise it'd be more satisfying. Alright, boys... Last night, old Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps, and now, we're gonna put them to work."

"To… work?" Jaune asked as Russel Thrush grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Now, according to one of the essays you wrote for me last week, these nasty things _loooove_ sweets." Cardin explained with a menacing grin as he and his fellow teammates got up, "I'm thinking it's time we teach _her_ a thing or two."

Cardin grabbed Jaune by the scuff of his hoodie, and painfully yanked him up on his feet and shoved the jar into his grasp, "And _you're_ gonna do it."

"Do what?"

"Hit her with the sap!" Cardin snapped in Jaune's face, "Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon."

Jaune looked at the jar of sap in his hands, and then looked at the team of bullies looking at him to do the deed, grinning. Jaune turned towards an unsuspecting and smiling Pyrrha, steeling his nerves, intent on hitting her with the sap.

He had to do it. Only then could he make his ancestor's proud by being a Hunter like they were. Sure he wasn't the only one, as his little sister a year younger than him was still in a elementary combat school, but she wasn't fit for the task. He was, and he would do whatever to took to stay in Beacon to secure his family legacy.

He made a motion to throw it, but when the jar was about to leave his hands, he held onto it at the last split second, as memories of his time at Beacon with his team and Anthony's and Ruby's team flashed through his mind, along with the events from last night, until a picture of his ancestors surfaced in his mind, and they weren't smiling in pride at him.

They were glaring at him.

 _What... am I doing?_ Jaune thought in shame, as he suddenly felt filthy for what he was about to do to one of the people who tried to help him.

He then realized that his father, his grandfather, and his ancestors didn't get where they were being a coward like himself. They were honourable and did the right thing, no matter what. They earned what they achieved through blood, sweat, and tears through hard work, not stabbing their teammates in the back.

In the end, he couldn't do it, and feared the wrath of his mother, his sisters, and even his father, would unleash on him if they found out his actions today.

"Hey, Jaune! What's taking so long! Hit her!" Cardin ordered, pointing at her.

"… No."

"What did you say?" Cardin asked slowly, hoping he heard wrong.

"I said… NO!" Jaune yelled, rounding on Team CRDL with newfound determination.

He made to throw the jar at Cardin instead, but his arms was caught by Dove. Jaune looked at him in terror before being punched in the face by Russell, sending him to the ground.

"You _know,_ that wasn't very smart, Jauney boy." Cardin sneered as he picked up a bruised Jaune and punched him to the ground again. "I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny tiny _pieces_."

However, before he could do anything, a loud growl came from behind them. All of them froze, slowly turning to see a familiar green goliath. Bruce's Semblance that was given form stomped towards the bullies.

"Let... him... _go_ ," Bruce, or Hulk as he liked to be called in this form, growled out, furious.

All of the bravado and arrogance that team CRDL had quickly evaporated at the sight of the Hulk. All of negative thoughts Cardin had upon Bruce faded away, replaced with fear. He quickly released Jaune, who scrambled back in fright upon seeing the Hulk. He knew that Bruce was saving him, along with scaring team CRDL, but damn if the sight wasn't scary.

Before anyone could do anything, there were loud howls. Darting past the trees, dozens of Ursai had appeared. All of the negative emotions that Hulk gave off had attracted the Grimm to their location.

Seeing the sight of so many Grimm, team CRDL tried to run away. They were stopped, however, by several arrows being aimed at them. The arrows heads broke apart and formed several bolas that swiftly tied each boys' legs together, halting their movements and making them fall down. As they fell down, however, Dove managed to land on the jar of sap that he'd snatched off Jaune. He cried out in pain as he was covered in small shards of glass and sap.

The Rapier Wasps that the boys had managed to captures burst from the box that contained them, and they immediately headed towards the boys. They tried to crawl away, but they were too slow. The Wasps swarmed them, stinging and piercing them. The bullies cried out in pain and fear, unable to do anything.

Meanwhile, Hulk was taking on the herd of Ursai. And was doing a spectacular job in dealing with them. The green goliath grabbed the face of one of them and hurled them at another. He roared, about to crush the both of them but was interrupted by another Ursa tackling him. It roared, trying to sink his claws into the Hulk, but doing nothing. Annoyed, the Hulk roared loudly at the face of the Ursa, showing who was the stronger being.

The Ursa whimpered, now meek and frightened. It tried to run away, but Hulk grabbed one of its legs. With a loud bellow, the giant used the Grimm as a rag doll, bashing the other Ursai into inky blackness.

Up in the trees, the other members of team AVHR watched the spectacle. "So... what was that about needing to help Bruce?" Anthony asked Thor, eyebrow raised. "Because it looks to me that, not only did he make those dipshits piss themselves, but he's also beating the shit out of those Grimm. Quite well, I might add."

"So I was worried about my teammate. Sue me," Thor huffed.

"Well, I'm just gonna sit back and watch the show," Clint commented, already bringing out a bag of popcorn from... somewhere, and started eating it.

"Wait. We have to help team CRDL. The Rapier Wasps are attracted to the sap," Thor said urgently. The response from the other two boys was to laugh loudly. They continued laughing as Thor gave them an annoyed look. When it died down, he still had the same expression.

"Oh," Anthony blinked. "You're serious. Like, legit serious."

"Of course," Thor frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

They continued to look at him with disbelief. Clint had a dribble of of popcorn on his chin.

Thor groaned. "Fine. I'll do it myself." He jumped down from the branch, Mjölnir appearing into his hand. "Flee, dreaded fiends!" he bellowed, striking the ground near team CRDL and making the ground shake. While this didn't hurt the Rapier Wasps, it _did_ startle them, making them fly away from the injured boys. Thor raised Mjölnir in the direction of the Wasps, lightning crackling around the hammer. A bolt of lightning was produced from the hammer, zapping each of them into dust. Mjölnir was a glorified bug-zapper as it continued to do its job.

Both Anthony and Clint held up flags, saying 'Go Thor!' and 'Hulk Smash', each one labelled blue and green respectively.

Hulk had practically decimated the Ursai in almost no time, as expected. Thor had finished killing the Rapier Wasps. Just as they were about to rest, the bushes rustled as Goodwitch - along with several other teachers - arrived onto the scene. They saw the Hulk, and they quickly became alarmed. Goodwitch, however, raised a hand to calm them down, having seen Bruce's Semblance during the initiation.

"Mr. d'Aesir, Mr. Banner," Glynda called out sternly, observing the scene. "May you explain what has just occurred?"

Thor sighed, turning to look exasperatedly at Hulk, who shrugged. Then, he turned to Goodwitch. "It's a long story."

 **XXX**

 **(Beacon Academy, Ozpin's office, Nighttime)**

Teams AVHR, CRDL and JNPR stood in front of Ozpin's desk, with Ozpin sitting behind it. He looked stern as he gazed at each team, his gaze being longer on Team CRDL.

"May I ask as to what happened?" Ozpin asked simply, although each student knew better. While his question sounded like a request, they knew that it was a demand. Not only his tone, but his piercing gaze unnerved each of the students there.

Immediately, Cardin opened his big mouth to blab. "Sir, it was all their fault!" He pointed at Team AVHR. "They harassed us, and-and unleashed the Rapier Wasps on us! They were going to kill us!"

Ozpin just looked at Cardin for a moment, his gaze unchanged. It was as if he didn't hear Cardin speak. Then his eyes swivelled to Anthony. "I see. Mr. Black, would you mind telling me what happened? From your point of view, of course."

"Gladly," Anthony smirked. "Hell, I'll even give you proof." Anthony pulled out his Scroll and tapped something on it. Holding it out in front of him and stepping back, everyone had a clear view of the Scroll as it expanded into a small screen. Then a video began to play.

It showed Cardin and the other members of Team CRDL telling Jaune about how they wanted to get payback at Pyrrha by having him throw the jar of sap at her. Everyone - including the now mortified Cardin - watched as Jaune refused and tried to retaliate against Cardin, but was swiftly restrained. Then the Hulk appeared, and the rest was history.

Anthony had a shit-eating grin as he looked at the now suddenly pale Team CRDL. "Well, well," he said, voice sickeningly sweet, "it seems like Cardin has been lying, Oz."

"Indeed," Ozpin responded crisply, staring at Team CRDL. "I do not know how you have escaped the numerous accusations from other sources about your behaviour, but it ends now. As Headmaster, your days at Beacon Academy may very well be short for potential harm of another student, as well as bullying and blackmailing another student. In addition to your shady accusations, you will have Professor Port and Oobleck take care of your punishment, as well as having detention with them for two months."

Team CRDL knew better than to argue with Ozpin, so bowed their heads and nodded.

"Now, with that out of the way, you can leave," he said to the boys. Grudgingly, they walked out of the office, still wincing at the wounds the Rapier Wasps inflicted on them.

Ozpin now looked at Jaune. "I hope, Mr. Arc, that you learn from this. You could've asked for your friends' or teammates' help. Just as you are here to learn, you are also to forge new bonds and work together. Remember that."

"Yes, sir," Jaune nodded, looking at his team with a guilty look.

Then Ozpin looked to Team AVHR. "Excellent work, Mr. Banner and Mr. d'Aesir. Though, I would comment on the laziness exhibited by your other teammates..." he gave a pointed look to Anthony and Clint, who whistled innocently, "... but I won't. Now, you are all dismissed."

Nodding, both teams stepped out of Ozpin's office. Ren, Nora and Pyrrha immediately swarmed Jaune, asking if he was alright. Through the questions from his team, he looked at Bruce, mouthing 'thank you'. Bruce nodded. Jaune looked at Anthony, but the technopath just continued walking, ignoring him. That dampened Jaune's spirits immensely.

 **XXX**

 _(Dorm Rooftop, Nighttime)_

Jaune stood on the dorm rooftop, overlooking the Academy. He had a sad and disappointed look in his eyes.

"Figured that I'd find you here," a familiar voice said behind him. He turned to see Pyrrha walking up to him. Seeing the look in his eye, she paused. "What's wrong? Thought you'd be happy to get rid of Cardin."

"Pyrrha," Jaune said sadly. "I'm sorry. I was a jerk. You and Anthony were only trying to be nice, and I blew you guys away. Anthony was right. I was stupid, a-and blind, and lazy, retarded and weak-minded and-"

"Jaune," Pyrrha interrupted, tired of him belittling himself. "It's okay."

Jaune smiled, if only slightly. "Thanks. But I know that, despite being harsh, Anthony was right. I-I just wish he was here, so I could apologize."

Without Jaune looking, Pyrrha gestured to an unseen figure, far away from the two. Hearing Jaune's words, the figure sighed, and walked towards the two, revealing himself.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that," Anthony said, his presence making Jaune jump lightly while Pyrrha giggled slightly.

"Anthony!" Jaune shouted slightly. Embarrassed, he lowered his voice and asked, "How long have you been hiding?"

"Long enough to hear you spill your guts to Red," Anthony responded with a smirk, making Jaune slump his shoulders. "She convinced me to come. At first, I was planning on calling Velvet and having a little fun with her and Coco- ow." Anthony rubbed his side where Pyrrha elbowed him. "-but I decided to come."

Jaune nodded. "Thanks. And I'm sorry. I really am."

"It's fine, Vomit Boy," he smirked. "I heard you spill your guts enough. Though I was only interested in the part where you said I was right."

Jaune sighed. "You really aren't gonna stop calling me that, are you?"

"Nope," Anthony replied, popping the 'p'.

"You know," Pyrrha said this time. "Your team really misses their leader, ya know?"

Jaune nodded. "And I missed them."

Smiling, Pyrrha was about to leave when Anthony said something. "Hold up, Jaune. I want to give you this."

It just occurred to the two of them that Anthony was carrying something covered in brown cloth. Its shape was round and large, so Jaune assumed it was a shield. Whipping the cloth off, Jaune's guess was correct. Nevertheless, he stared in awe at the weapon.

It looked like a typical round shield, circular in shape, only it was painted in red, blue and white. A white star was painted in the middle of a blue background, and surrounding it were rings of red and white. It looked extremely heavy.

"Woah," was all Jaune could say while Pyrrha admired the shield. It was amazing.

Anthony sighed. "Bruce managed to convince me that you had potential. Potential that I saw myself. I ignored it because - as I said before - you were acting stupid. And I'd never part with such a gift and give it to you. But Bruce has a way with words. Plus, you remind me of a friend that my dad had, long ago. He wielded this shield into previous battles, fighting for the kingdom of Vale, and Remnant itself."

Pyrrha gasped. "Is this-"

"It is," Anthony nodded. He looked to Jaune. "I know you already have a shield, but trust me. This one is far superior. And much lighter and cooler. So, Jaune." Here, Anthony smiled lightly. "Would you like to wield the shield of Steve Rogers, the legendary super soldier of Vale?"

 **And cut. I know I said I was going to play GoW 4 after updating Arcane Chaos, but I wanted to finish this off, since it's been a while.**

 **I know, I know, I said I was going to try to update this story quickly. But like I said before, RWBY juices diminishing. Not quitting or putting the story on hold, but I've just been busy with my other stories. I'll do my best to update quickly, since I really love the story.**

 **Nothing really much to say in this chapter. Also, something to add: should I write chapters for this story that are roughly 4,000 - 5,000 words? Or should I add more episodes of RWBY into one chapter? Since the RWBY episodes are roughly 6 - 8 minutes long. So it's really easy and quick to write a chapter. Lemme know, as I do want to get to the issue quickly.**

 **Thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story. Love y'all.**

 **Now, off to play GoW 4. Toodles!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

 _Clang!_ CLASH! _Clang!_

On and on the sounds rang across the rooftops as sword met sword. Jaune was breathing heavily as his sword instructor clashed with him. The training was tough, brutal, and ended up with him getting scarred. Anthony said that it helped build character, put some hair on his chest. Frankly, Jaune thought that he was insane.

He held his sword up, facing his opponent. Anthony didn't even look winded, just holding his sword. The air was being sliced in the direction of Jaune's face, and he ducked, going for an low swing at Anthony's feet. Seeing this, Anthony calmly stabbed his sword into the ground, halting the motion of Jaune's. With a flick of his wrist, he sliced through the ground and at Jaune. The Knight only had less than a second to react, blocking the attack narrowly with his sword.

As he struggled, Jaune was using all of his strength to hold Anthony back, and was steadily succeeding. That is until Anthony leaned in and elbowed Jaune in the gut. Hard. Jaune collapsed, sword clattering on the ground and holding his stomach in pain. Anthony then held his sword point to Jaune's neck.

"How many times does that make it?" Anthony questioned, an expectant look on his face.

"F-Five," he croaked out, recovering slightly.

"And what have I been trying to teach you?"

"Cheat as much as you can, because your opponent will do the same to you."

"Good." Anthony nodded, removing his sword from Jaune's throat and holding his hand out. "Grimm don't follow rules of fighting like some do, and criminals or terrorists won't do so either. In order to win, you need to find ways to put them in your level. You can't always be an honourable fighter and expect to win."

"Noted," Jaune nodded, taking Anthony's hand.

Anthony then walked towards the ledge of the rooftop and picked up the legendary red and blue shield, tossing it to Jaune. "Now, switch."

Sighing, Jaune walked over to his next instructor, Pyrrha. Smiling eagerly, she held her shield and sword. He looked at Anthony, then at Pyrrha, as if comparing which one of the two was the most brutal in training.

Pyrrha was helping Jaune get suited to fighting with both sword and shield, while Anthony taught Jaune dirty tricks and how to handle a sword, as well as his reaction time. And while the two were slave drivers, he couldn't argue with the results. Already, he could feel how conditioned his body had gotten since he had agreed to training. His muscles were more developed, his reaction time was quickening and his overall confidence was much better. He felt like he could take on ten Cardins and win.

Speaking of Cardin, the bully and his friends avoided him and his team like the plague. The detentions with Professors Port and Oobleck - along with the various punishments that they had suffered - made them learn to keep their mouth shut around him, Teams AVHR, JNPR and RWBY and any Faunus. And any time they even looked at Bruce, they looked like they were going to shit themselves. Bruce did admit that he found this amusing.

Jaune snapped out of his thoughts as Pyrrha charged at him, weapons at the ready. Sighing, Jaune responded in mind.

As he watched this go on, Anthony went over Jaune's progress in his head. He was turning out good. Great, even. His strength was increasing gradually, his speed was getting better, and he actually knew how to fight well. He couldn't beat anyone from Team AVHR, but he could give members of Team RWBY some trouble. Hell, he could properly fight Pyrrha without her Semblance. They still hadn't gotten Jaune to unlock his own Semblance yet, but they all knew that he would soon achieve it. It was only a matter of time.

Anthony refocused on the ongoing scene as Jaune landed on the ground, his sword and legendary shield clattering on the ground. Pyrrha had a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry," she apologised, reaching down to help Jaune up, who was groaning.

Nodding to his assessment, Anthony decided to end the sparring session. "Alright, that's enough. Jaune, you're getting better. A lot better. Remember to keep on training to make sure that you don't lose your touch."

"G-Got it," Jaune nodded. "Thanks again, guys. Really." Picking up his sword and shield, he waved to the two, walking towards his dorm.

Pyrrha put away her weapons and was about to leave when Anthony called out to her. "Hey, Pyrrha." The Spartan turned towards him. "Yes?"

Putting on what he dubbed his 'playboy' smirk, Anthony walked up towards her. "So... I was wondering if you'd like for me and you to go on a 'leisurely walk' throughout Vale." He shrugged nonchalantly. "It _could_ be as friends, but..." he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "... I personally want to find out if a certain rumour is true."

"And what's that?" Pyrrha asked, a little uncomfortable.

"If redheads truly are firecrackers behind closed doors."

Pyrrha choked on her spit, shocked at his brazen comment. "I... I-I..." Shaking her head slightly, she faced Anthony - who had a 'devil-may-care' smile on his face - and looked like a tomato. "I'm... sorry, but I'm not sure if I can accept."

Anthony's grin diminished slightly, then came back in full swing. "Oh, come on. When was the last time you were ever asked out as _just_ 'Pyrrha Nikos'? And not 'the Invincible Girl'? You've had guys practically throwing themselves at you just because of your popularity. Me? I'm more interested in the girl behind the title. Besides..." he walked forward towards Pyrrha, who - despite herself - took a small step back. Anthony leaned in towards her, whispering in her ear. "... I always did have a fascination towards redheads."

Pyrrha's face again looked like a tomato, although instead of feeling just embarrassment, she also felt longing. This was the first time a boy asked her out that wasn't after her fame, or was afraid of her status. She was actually being asked out... as a girl. The feeling was something foreign to her, and yet she found herself wanting to accept Anthony's offer. Granted, he was... blunt and acted like a player, but he didn't care one bit about her title. He just wanted her.

Smiling a bit, Pyrrha nodded shyly. "A-Alright. B-But just as friends."

Anthony's grin became wider. "Just as friends. I'll pick you up this Friday at eight."

Nodding again, much more confident, Pyrrha turned to leave, still looking like a tomato.

Once he was sure that she had left, Anthony pumped his fist into the air.

 **XXX**

Team AVHR sat in their dorm room, discussing the upcoming Vytal Festival. Anthony, Clint and Bruce were a little excited, but it was Thor who was practically vibrating.

"This event will be glorious!" he shouted in excitement. He even had stray sparks flickering from his fingers. "The fighting, the food, the people, the fighting!"

"Woah, woah," Clint cautioned. "Calm down, Thor. You're going to blow a fuse in the circuit."

Anthony shrugged. "Arsenal could take care of it."

"That's not the point," Clint retorted.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it! 'Tis just so exciting! This reminds me of Valhalla!"

"That's great, Thor. But can you please keep it down? Some of us have sensitive hearing," Bruce muttered, going down to take a nap.

Thor winced. "Oh. I'm sorry, Bruce."

Clint turned to look at Anthony. "So, I hear that your training Jaune."

Anthony nodded. "I am."

"You sure about that? The kid's got potential, but that's all he has. Potential. And idiocy. And bad luck. And also-"

"I get it," Anthony interrupted. "And at first, I didn't want anything to do with him... partly because of his stupidity. But now, he's actually using his potential. And it's showing."

Clint shrugged. "Alright. But don't come crying to any of us when this whole thing crashes and burns."

"Clint, you should not discourage friend Anthony from aiding a young warrior in need!" Thor admonished. "I think that it is honourable that he would help Jaune."

Bruce scoffed, still resting on his bed. "Please, he's probably only doing it because Pyrrha is helping."

Anthony's eye twitched as Clint chuckled. "You know, I think I'd prefer if you just stayed green."

"Naw," Bruce waved away. "I'd still say the same thing, only with a lot of yelling and smashing."

"Uh huh." Anthony stood up, going towards the bathroom. "Speaking of Pyrrha, I'm going to change. I have a hot date tonight."

"So your plan to stalk/harass Pyrrha until she finally said yes worked?" Clint asked, a smirk on his face.

Anthony glared at the archer for even suggesting that. "No! I have much more class and respect than that!"

"Bullshit!" Clint and Bruce scoffed.

The technopath growled, wanting to strangle his teammates so badly. He inhaled sharply, calming himself. "I'm not going to give in. I'm not going to give in," he chanted, before stepping into the bathroom.

Clint and Bruce chuckled while Thor looked confused. Minutes later, Anthony emerged from the bathroom, dressed differently. He wore a leather jacket with a navy T-shirt underneath. This was complimented by black skinny jeans and silver and black shoes. He spread his hands, as if accepting a hug from someone. "I clean up quite nicely, if I do say so myself."

Thor stood up and slapped him on the back, almost knocking Anthony off of his feet. "You look good, Anthony! I'm sure Pyrrha will love how you are dressed!"

"Let's hope so," Anthony said. He then turned to his other teammates. "See? _That'_ _s_ how friends treat each other."

Clint shrugged. "Thor would compliment us on practically everything. He's annoyingly nice like that."

"Uh huh," Anthony nodded mockingly. Huffing, he turned his nose upwards, going out of his dorm room. He headed to Team JNPR's dorm room, mentally preparing himself. Despite all his bluster and bravado, this _was_ his first date. Plus, he wasn't lying to Pyrrha when he said that he liked redheads.

He knocked on the door a few times. He waited a moment, before it was opened by Ren. "Anthony? What do you need?"

Smiling a little, Anthony nodded to him. "Hey, Ren. Is Pyrrha in there? I wanted to pick her up for our date."

"Date?" He blinked a couple of times. "Wait, you're the the one who's taking her out?"

"Uh huh," Anthony nodded. "So, is she in there?"#

Before he could answer, he heard a female voice call out, "I'm ready!" from inside. Ren stepped aside to let Pyrrha walk out, and Anthony's breath hitched slightly. She wore a red jacket over a black T-shirt that covered her modest bust. She also wore a skirt that reached her knees, followed by black high heels. Despite her somewhat simple dressing, it looked good on her. Really good. Anthony also noticed how her hair flowing freely, having been removed from its ponytail.

Catching himself, Anthony gave his usual grin. "Wow. You look great, Pyrrha. Really great."

Pyrrha blushed brightly, but managed a smile. "Thank you. You look great yourself."

Ren stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Eventually, he decided to excuse himself. "Um... enjoy your date." With that, he quickly walked back inside, shutting the door.

With that, Anthony put his hand forward, smiling. "So, milady. Shall we depart on our joyous evening?"

"Gladly," Pyrrha played along, curtsying slightly. She took his hand. Then both of them walked towards a secret area that Anthony had discovered. It was a short distance away from the Emerald Forest, yet far enough from the Academy to be considered private. "May I ask where we are going?" the Spartan enquired curious.

Anthony smiled good-naturally. "It's a secret. It would ruin the date if you weren't surprised and awed. But it's a good kind of secret, trust me."

"Are we not taking the Bullhead to Vale?" she asked, confused as to how they were travelling.

Anthony's smile got wider. "I got an even better idea." Carrying her bridal-style, she yelped in surprise. Pyrrha just continued look at Anthony's smiling face.

"Hold on tight," was his only warning. Then, his personal armour attached itself to his body, only the rocket jet boosters on his legs and back appearing. Then he flew into the air with a powerful force of power.

Pyrrha screamed loudly, clinging to Anthony like a lifeline. She turned towards him, screaming into his face, mentally thinking, _Why are you doing this?! I'm going to die!_

Anthony only grinned widely, laughing a little. He increased his speed, flying through the night sky like a rocket. The wind whipped against both of their faces, with him making sure that Pyrrha's skirt didn't moved too quickly.

They eventually landed near a restaurant discreetly, Anthony being very private about it. After almost vomiting from the fear of flying, Pyrrha followed Anthony inside the restaurant. They made it inside in good time and ate there quickly. Pyrrha couldn't afford to stay there too long, otherwise, people might notice her and draw in crowds, delaying their date. Something she really didn't want to do. They were soon walking in a nice park they had found in Vale, enjoying their time together. They talked and chatted about different aspects of their lives; for Pyrrha, it was about her life before the fame. How life was like with her parents and the like. For Anthony, it was his love for machines, along with having the ambition of wanting to open his own company by selling his own inventions.

Pyrrha didn't know why she found it so easy to talk to Anthony, but she did. Despite his cocky attitude, he was a very nice person to talk to. Chatty, sure. But very nice. Anthony was also enjoying himself, finding Pyrrha a good person as well. All she needed was a bit of prompting and she acted like every other normal girl. Well, if normal girls were superstars.

"So you actually like apple pie?" Anthony asked, having listened to Pyrrha's talks about her home life.

She smiled a little, blushing. "Yes. My mother loved making it for me. It was her special recipe for the family. Both my father and I would race each other to see who would get to the table first to eat it."

Anthony chuckled. "I can imagine it: the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos, eating apple pie like a glutton. I bet your fans would love to see that. They might even start taking up the habit."

Scowling, she slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't joke about it. My apple pie is my own and I plan to kill anyone who takes my pies." She suddenly blinked at her words as Anthony laughed.

"Now the 'glutton' side of you is being unleashed!" he joked, still laughing. "Careful, no pies are safe! Pyrrha Nikos will devour them all!"

"Stop that!" Pyrrha shouted, then covered her mouth. Anthony continued laughing.

They managed to finished their date (Pyrrha was now okay with saying that now) with a fantastic flight across Vale. While initially, Pyrrha was against flying, now she found it to be amazing. She found the stars and shattered moon to be a wonderful sight. The two of them landed back in Beacon, where Anthony dropped her off at her dorm. Before she went inside, she quickly pecked him on the lips and stepped into her room, blushing madly. While Anthony wanted to go further, he could respect Pyrrha's decision. As he walked to his own dorm, he had only one regret.

"I didn't get to prove if redheads truly are firecrackers behind closed doors."

 **XXX**

Team AVHR followed Team RWBY through downtown Vale as store owners and volunteers decorated the streets in preparation for the Vital Festival, an event held to celebrate the end of the last Great War and the peace that came with it. At first, none of Team AVHR wanted to join Team RWBY, as they wanted to get training for the Festival. But Ruby herself wanted Anthony to come as a friend. At first, Anthony didn't want to. But Ruby pulled out her secret weapon: her puppy dog eyes. Add her silver eyes and cute expression, and Anthony could not say no. He swore that those eyes were a dangerous weapon.

He had no idea how right he was.

So, while Anthony came with Team RWBY, he dragged his own team with him so that he doesn't have to suffer from the lack of training. And while it was a little petty, Anthony was team leader. He could do that kind of stuff.

"The Vital Festival!" Weiss exclaimed. "Oh this is absolutely wonderful!" She said all of this with uncharacteristic joy.

"... We sure this is the same Ice Queen?" Anthony whispered to Ruby, who was also weirded out by the heiress' behaviour.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Weiss." Ruby pointed out to her. "It's kind of weirding me out." Her teammates and Team AVHR silently agreed.

"How could you not smile?" the albino girl asked the younger teen rhetorically. "A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dancing, parades, a tournament! Oh the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

Bruce leaned in to whisper into Thor's ear. "At least you're not the only one enthusiastic about the Fesitval."

Thor nodded, smiling. "Aye. 'Tis wonderful to find someone else to share my passion about the Festival."

"Unfortunately, Weiss is more likely to insult your passion and choices of the Vital Festival than agree with you."

Thor made to argue, but he found that he couldn't. It was true.

Yang sighed and crossed her arms. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring," the blond huffed.

"Quiet, you." Weiss snapped back.

"As fun as this is," Blake's dry tone cut in, "why _are_ at the city docks?"

"I heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be visiting by ship today." Weiss said in way of answering her question.

"Ugh, they smell like fish." Ruby complained, pinching her nose.

Weiss continued answering Blake's question. "As a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom."

Blake scoffed. "Please. You want to spy on them so you'll have the upper hand in the tournament."

Anthony, Clint and Bruce chuckled as Weiss grew a little angry. "You can't prove that!" she yelled indigently.

"You did," Yang inputted, grinning.

"Woah," Ruby said cutting off whatever Weiss might have said in retaliation. Following the reaper's gaze, the other teens say a store blocked off by yellow police tape with two cops standing guard at the busted windows.

Walking up to the closed store Ruby asked one of the two guards, "What happened here?"

The man looked up from his computer pad. "Robbery," he told her, "Second Dust shop hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." He then turned back to the building.

"That's terrible," Yang commented.

"It could be worse," Bruce said. "It's not like it was a mass killing, right?" He tried to look at the positive side of things.

"But with that much Dust, how long will that last?" Blake refuted, playing devil's advocate.

The second guard could be heard talking to his partner. "They left all the money again," he pointed out.

"Huh?" Ruby questioned no one.

The first detective made his confusion known. "Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" he asked rhetorically.

"You thinking the ,uh, White Fang?" the other cop asked his colleague.

"That's my bet," his friend said with a little disdain.

Weiss hmphed. "The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates," she said haughtily.

Anthony sighed, along with his teammates. "Here we go again," Clint muttered.

"What's your problem?" Blake questioned the white-themed girl, a small undertone of anger in her voice.

Weiss turned to face the golden-eyed girl and replied, "My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane," she told her.

"Oh, sure," Anthony butted in, frowning. "Because racism towards an entire species is simply okay."

Weiss whirled towards the technopath. "I am _not_ racist!"

"Could've fooled me," Bruce scoffed. "Racism towards a species simply because of the actions of others doesn't make it right."

"They're just misguided," Blake continued for him.

"Misguided?" Weiss demanded. "They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

"Again, you make it sound like humans didn't try to do the same to them first," Thor pointed out, looking furious. This was the first time any of the teens had seen him angry. "The only reason the White Fang exists is because of the Faunus War forty years ago, a war that was all about humanity wanting to slaughter or imprison every Faunus on the planet."

"Then they're _very_ misguided," Blake continued to defend. "Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"Maybe the White Fang are preparing a war against Atlas," Anthony suggested, drawing the attention of the two girls. "Atlas is responding with full force because of their actions. With the White Fang following their attack."

"Anthony has a point," Ruby admitted, "But they never caught that Torchwick guy he and I fought a few months ago. It could have been him."

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum," Weiss said, ignoring how Anthony had pointed out that they were simply responding in kind to her kingdom's actions. In her eyes, Atlas was responding to the threat of the Fang, not the other way around.

"Then you're blind," Clint said, ignoring the glare Weiss shot at him. "So it's okay for humans to hate and kill Faunus for the White Fang's actions, but Faunus killing humans is illegal. You're nothing more than a hypocritical, spoilt brat."

Looking at Weiss' face, she looked like she was going to explode with rage. Yang 'oohed', Ruby didn't look happy at the whole arguing, Thor nodded in agreement along with Bruce, and Anthony just looked stone-faced.

Before Weiss could say anything, a sailor's shout stopped any farther argument between the teens. "Hey! Stop that Faunus!"

Turning back to the docks, Teams RWBY and AVHR saw a blond monkey Faunus wearing worn jeans, an open white button up shirt, and red bracers on his arms running away from two deckhands on a transport ship that had just docked.

Leaping onto the edge of the ship, the blond faced the sailors and told them in a mocking tone, "Thanks for the ride, guys! Hehe." With than the teen jumped off the boat onto the dock, running along the wooden boards at a speed that showed he was most likely a Huntsman trainee.

"You no good stow-away!" one of the sailors yelled after him.

"Hey!" the boy said, hanging by his tail on a street lamp and peeling a banana. "A 'no-good' stow-away would have been caught. I'm a great stow-away," he told them.

The boys of Team AVHR chuckled at the Faunus' words. One of the two cops from before threw a stone at the Faunus' head, missing only due to the teen moving slightly to dodge it.

"Get down from there this instant," one of the cops ordered the blond. Only to get a banana peel to the face in way of reply. The teens, apart from Blake and Weiss, laughed at this.

The Faunus laughed as he flipped up to crouch on top of the lamppost before jumping high into the air and landing in a tight roll several yards behind the two law enforcers, popping back up immediately and beginning to run the cops in pursuit.

As the blond ran past the five teens he gave Blake a quick wink and continued to speed off. Blake didn't look impressed.

"Huh, I like the guy," Anthony said, grinning. "Manage's to give a 'Fuck the Police' message while getting to know a girl. Ow!" That last part was because Yang gave him a hard punch to his shoulder. "What the hell was the for, Blondie?" He then dodged another punch from Yang.

"Language! We have a minor here!" Yang spoke, pointing at Ruby.

"Yang!" she screamed, making the others laugh.

Yang decided now was the time to speak up, after giving Anthony a serious glare. "Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition and there it goes."

"Quick! We have to observe him!" The heiress proclaimed, running after the former stow-away her team following her.

Anthony looked to the others, still rubbing his shoulder. "Should we go after them?"

"I would," Clint said, his voice contradicting with his statement, "but didn't we come here to actually enjoy the Festival? Might as well make use of this opportunity, since _someone-_ " a sharp glare was directed towards Anthony "-wasn't able to say no to a fifteen-year-old girl."

Anthony scowled. "I dare you to say no when said fifteen-year-old girl gives puppy eyes."

"My, my," a smooth voice rang out. "What interesting company you keep, _brother_."

Team AVHR turned to look at who had spoken. A boy around their age stood, with a woman beside him. The boy had long, smooth black hair that reached his shoulders. He also had piercing green eyes that looked similar to a snake's own venomous gaze. He wore armour that looked similar in design to Thor's own clothing, but green and built for his own slim build. He was handsome, in a sort of dangerous and sly way.

The woman beside him was breathtakingly beautiful. Anthony almost drooled a little, but managed to keep himself composed. She had majestic blonde hair that flowed down her back, and pale blue eyes that had a cruel light to them. She wore the same kind of clothing and design that the man beside her and Thor, but more feminine and slightly provocative. Like her partner, she seemed to love the colour green. Her corset that she wore showcased her large bust, and her crown-like object covered her head.

Thor's eyes grew wide when he saw who these people were. "Loki," he hissed, surprising his teammates. "What are you doing here?"

The person identified as Loki grinned sharply. "And how wonderful it is to see you, too, brother. And you've even got yourself a team. How marvellous!"

The other members of Team AVHR looked at Loki, then at Thor, trying to see the resemblance.

Seeing this, Loki's face morphed into one of false sadness. "You've never told them about me, brother? I'm hurt." Turning to the teens, he gave a grand bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Loki n'Aesir, adopted brother of Thor. And my associate is simply Amora."

"Thor," Amora spoke, her voice carrying a sweet tone to it. The sound made all four of the boys' shiver. "How wonderful it is to see you, my darling."

"Amora," Thor spoke, less than pleased.

Amora pouted. "Darling, you say my name with such animosity. You wound me."

"Enough of your games!" Thor yelled angrily. "Why are you both here?!"

"Why, for the Vital Fesitval, of course. We are simply here to scour the competition," Loki spoke smoothly, though none of them believed him. "And now that we know that you're entering..." Loki's grin became wider, "... we're going to have so much _fun_."

Grin diminishing, Loki gave a mocking bow. "It was wonderful to meet you again, brother. Do send my regards to dear father." With that, Loki walked away, with Amora following him. Though not before she gave a wink towards Thor.

When the two of them were gone, the tension in Thor's body seemed to vanish only slightly. Anthony looked towards his partner. "So... bad family reunion?"

"Bad family reunion," Thor said in agreement.

"Trust me, I can relate," Anthony said with a grim smile. "Come on. Let's go meet the others."

 **Done and dusted. This was really late, and I apologise to those expecting it.**

 **Hope y'all liked the chapter. I kept the date with Pyrrha short because there are no true romantic feelings between Anthony and Pyrrha yet. At best, it was just an outing with friends. Anthony's attitude said differently, but that's how I wrote him.**

 **Loki and Amora were introduced. Loki because I love him (okay, truthfully, I love Tom Hiddleston. But Loki himself is actually cool), and Amora because I wanted to make things interesting. I won't have too many Marvel characters/copies appear, since if I did, it'd be considered a crossover.**

 **Now, for story updates... I'm thinking of putting up a poll and seeing which ones you want me to update. Arcane Chaos I might take a break from. It won't be on a hiatus, nor is it because of a lack of inspiration, since I have it all planned out. Just want to update Solaris, the Solar God a bit more. Probably might put it on a poll.**

 **I don't think I have any reviews for the story to answer. If I do, I apologise. Just PM me if I didn't answer the reviews.**

 **Okay. Think that's it. Remember to read, review, follow and favourite the story. And a big shout out to all those who've already done so. Love y'all.**

 **Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Team AVHR were training in the sparring centre, having got permission from Ozpin to use it to refine their skills. Normally, students weren't usually allowed to use the sparring centre, as it was only ever used for classes taught by Goodwitch. However, Ozpin knew that Team AVHR was far beyond their peers, and as such would need to sharpen their skills. While he didn't give a reason to the teens as to why he allowed them to use the sparring centre, they were still content with being allowed to use it.

Right now they were going through team training. All of their individual skills could be sharpened through experience or experimentation, since they all were skilled in their own strengths. However, they needed to know each others strengths and weaknesses, as well as come up with combo moves. Hence their sparring.

Anthony was teamed with Clint, while Bruce and Thor were teamed with each other. While the latter two seemed the more obvious choice to win, they didn't get along too well. Oh, Thor had no problem working with Bruce. _Hulk_ , on the other hand, was a bit... temperamental.

As evident by the fact that the hulking being roared as arrows were being shot at him, exploding on impact. He waved his arms, clearing the smoke and looking for where the archer had gone. Just as he was about to stomp the ground in frustration, he could feel a prick on his back. He was about to scoff before he roared in slight pain, electricity coursing through his body.

"Got to thank Repair Boy for these new arrows," Clint said with a smirk. Said smirk was wiped off his face, seeing the increasing rage across Hulk's face.

"ROOOOAR!" Hulk roared, a small shockwave produced from his furious stomp.

"... Crap! Crap! Crap!" Clint yelled, shooting arrow after arrow at Hulk, who kept on stomping towards him. One arrow managed to freeze Hulk solid for a good few seconds, before shattering. Another was aimed at his feet, breaking off and turning into bolas and wrapped around his legs, bringing the green goliath down. That, however, didn't last too long, since Hulk grabbed the bolas and ripped them apart. A flash bang arrow was sent to his face, exploding in light and blinding the Hulk, causing him to gave Clint ample time to run away, since Hulk just kept getting angrier.

With Anthony and Thor, the spar had quickly dissolved into a match of who had the better skill in fighting. Thor couldn't use his lightning against the technopath, as it didn't have the effect that he wanted. The same could be said for Anthony. Technology only worked so long before it was either smashed or short-circuited sometimes. So it was hammer against sword. Thor's heavy blows caused Anthony to deflect them or roll out of the way. For Thor, he had to grit his teeth and power through the sneaky attacks that Anthony performed, getting cuts along his arms or torso. With a roar, Thor broke the stalemate, surprising Anthony and smashing him with his hammer, sending him flying. He only realised his mistake a few seconds afterward, when Anthony landed on his back with a groan, grunting.

"I am sorry, Anthony!" Thor exclaimed, walking towards his teammate. "I did not mean to hit you that hard, I swear!"

"N-No, it's okay," Anthony wheezed out, wincing. "J-Just remember to take it easier next time. A-And Arsenal?"

"Yes, sir?" Arsenal's voice called out from Anthony's backpack.

"Add 'extra armour' to training sessions," he wheezed.

"Noted."

Thor was able to help Anthony up, while Hulk held Clint in a bear hug, wanting to crush him. He tried to wiggle out of the grip. "H-Hey, Hulk! I-I was only kidding! This is a sparring sess- A-ACK!" he coughed out, bones breaking as Hulk squeezed harder.

Before Anthony or Thor could reprimand Hulk, they heard someone shout, "Well maybe we were tired of being pushed around!" That someone was revealed to be none other than Blake. She passed the training teens, panic visibly clear on her body.

All of them blinked, wondering what went wrong. Then Hulk went back to crushing Clint. Thor looked towards Anthony. "Would you like to see what's going on?"

Anthony frowned. "Why me?"

"Because you are close to Team RWBY. Besides, it's not good to leave friends in peril."

Anthony raised an eyebrow, still not convinced. But seeing the expectant look Thor gave him, he sighed. "Alright, fine," he grumbled, getting up and wincing. "You owe me for this."

"Aye! Perhaps another sparring match?" Anthony flinched while he stumbled, bewildered by Thor's suggestion.

"No," he denied quickly. "Not unless I wear a metal suit." With that, he stumbled after the girl.

"Blake, wait!" Ruby cried out running after her teammate only to be stopped when Anthony caught her arm.

"Ruby, what the hell is going on?" Anthony asked the girl.

"Blake and Weiss were fighting about how Weiss looks at Faunus a-and it got really out of hand then I-I think Blake just admitted she's a Faunus then she ran off!" the younger teen cried, looking on the verge of tears.

Now Anthony felt compelled to help the girl. Her crying face was something that he didn't want to see.

The technopath sighed. "Go back to your dorm, Ruby, I'll go talk to Blake."

"But-"

"Look, a fresh face is something that Blake might need. If you go meet her, there's likely to be an argument to arise. If _I_ go see her, I'll be able to see what's wrong and try and give my own opinion."

Ruby hesitated, beaten by the logic Anthony gave. Looking down with her eyes still teary, Ruby nodded her head and went back to her dorm. Before leaving, she turned to look at Anthony. "Help her."

Anthony nodded, seeing the teen go to her dorm. He sighed. "Why can't girls be simple? And here I thought that I'd have woman following me, no problem. Didn't know it'd be the opposite."

Taking out his Scroll (that thankfully wasn't damaged during the spar) he activated his personal GPS app that he'd installed, sending out signals to locate Blake. Hopefully, she still had her Scroll on her. Taking a quick moment to hack into Beacons files (something that he hoped Ozpin wouldn't find out), he used the code listed on the school site for the Scrolls, finding Blake's. After a few moments...

"Bingo," he smirked, finding Blake's Scroll, before taking off into its direction.

She had, fortunately, not left the school, choosing instead to stand in front of the Statue of the Founders, her mind in turmoil. Anthony mentally went over what he planned to say to her. Of all of Team RWBY's members, Blake was the one that he least interacted with. Weiss didn't count, as she was a stuck-up bitch. The black-haired girl had a mysterious air around her. And while Anthony found that intriguing and somewhat attractive, he still found it hard to talk to the girl.

A plan finally coming to mind, he spoke. "I'm guessing that Weiss was the one who you had a fight with?"

Blake twitched, but didn't do anything else. Finally, she turned around, looking Anthony in the eyes. "How'd you come to that?"

"Ruby's a wallflower, she couldn't hold a serious argument to save her life. Yang seems chill, so that's out. And Weiss is the one who's likely to piss someone off. She's bitchy like that."

Blake's lips twitched. "That's true." Her smile faded. "What are you doing here?"

"Thor made me come and meet you. Then Ruby came and I convinced her to go back while I talk to you."

Blake turned to face the statue. "I don't want to talk. Go away."

"... So, it's going to be like that, huh?" Anthony muttered to himself. He sighed. "Let me guess; you did something that you're not proud of, and now you're found out?"

Blake didn't say anything, though her eyes said it all. Anthony was able to notice all these things, he was trained to do so, after all.

"I'm right, aren't I? You have a secret that you don't want anyone to find, but you got caught. You got caught in some bad stuff, you did stuff you prefer to lock away." Seeing Blake not moving, he pushed harder. He was thinking of what was Blake's problem specifically. What would Weiss get pissed about? Well, she was a spoiled princess, so the list was probably long. But what? What would she- Anthony's eyes widened for a moment, before looking at Blake. She seemed to be a relatively normal girl, no oddities on her. No, wait. He spotted something. On top of her head. Her bow. For some reason, it moved slightly. Anthony could've chalked it up to the wind or something, but no. It wiggled like it was trying to move.

A thoughtful frown on his face, he said, "You're a Faunus, aren't you?"

Blake's neck moved so quickly that he thought that she just experienced whiplash. Her amber eyes were wide in shock.

"It's true, isn't it?" he continued. "That explains why you were so livid when Cardin talked shit about Faunus." He frowned. "And also why you tried to hide it."

Blake continued to leave her mouth open, before fear and sadness creeped into her features. Seeing this, Anthony scowled. "Oi, don't lump me in with that dumbass. I don't care if you're a Faunus, Blake. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that you never told anyone."

His mind was racing. Why would Blake hide who she was? The obvious answer was to hide from any racist students like Cardin and his goons.

Blake's shoulders slumped in slight relief, before the familiar haunted look appeared in her eyes. Anthony's breath caught in his throat. The reason being that her eyes were so familiar. Familiar because he saw the same eyes whenever he looked into a mirror.

She raised her hand to remove her bow, letting it fall as actual cat ears twitched on her head. They were lowered, signifying that she was sad. If the mood wasn't so sad, he'd honestly make a pussy cat joke.

Anthony moved towards her, causing Blake to back away slightly. Nevertheless, Anthony kept advancing. He stood in front of her, an understanding expression on his face. "You've been touched by the darkness too, haven't you?"

Blake frowned, confusion written across her face.

"Your eyes show sorrow, a haunted look in your eyes. You've done things, partaken in things that stained your soul. Memories that trap your mind-" he stopped, images forming in his mind that were usually kept locked away.

"You've felt the same way, haven't you?" Blake asked, although the answer was obvious.

Anthony walked beside her, looking ahead at the statue in front of them. Blake's eyes were still on him, as if searching for something.

"For as long as I can remember, I've been trained to kill people," Anthony started, getting wide eyes from the Faunus. "My dad... was insistent that I take up the family business. My family has been working as assassins for a long time. My grandfather was an assassin, my uncle, my aunt, etc. When it was time for my training, I hated it." Anthony chuckled, but there was no mirth behind it. "I always whined, made excuses, even ran away for a bit, just to escape it. My father wasn't... happy with that."

"Did he beat you?" Blake asked in a quiet voice, a little drawn to the story.

Anthony smiled. He lifted up his shirt, revealing his midriff. Blake blushed a little at the toned and lithe muscles, along with the visible six-pack, but cringed at seeing small scars littering his torso. These were small, not too deep, but still looked terrible. The worst, however, was a large, deep one, on his left pectoral. It looked old, jagged and almost fatal.

"These came from training," Anthony said, gesturing towards all some of his shallow scars. "However, some came from 'discipline'." He scowled as he said the word. "Apparently, I was too mouthy, too innocent, too _naïve."_ Anthony snarled out the last word, making Blake flinch. He sighed, calming down slightly. "The scars helped me keep my mouth shut, and focus on the mission. I spent years killing people; men, women, teenagers. Sometimes..." Anthony hesitated. "I still see them," he admitted. "At the edge of my vision, I still see them. I see them sleep, I see them curse me, I-" He got a lump in his throat, before grunting.

"I'm not telling you this for you to pity me," Anthony managed to say, looking the girl in the eyes. "I'm telling you this because, as big as you think your problems are, running away from them won't help." Seeing Blake's angry glare, he elaborated. "Blake, I can tell that you being a Faunus isn't the reason you ran away. You had the same look I did when I ran away from home. Loathing, fear, shame. This has something to do with the White Fang, doesn't it?"

Blake's gaze went from angry to ashamed. He sighed, finally getting to the root of the problem.

"I'm not going to berate you or anything," Anthony clarified. "I of all people know that one's past doesn't fully define them. And I also know about people being in bad places at bad times. For whatever reason. But you can't hide who you are."

"Then why don't you tell your teammates about your past, huh?" Blake rebuffed, annoyed at his words. "Why don't you tell them about how you killed people?"

"Because it's my past, something that's sensitive to me," Anthony replied. "I've already come to terms with what I was, and have gotten rid of my inner demons. I may struggle, but I can still push through, face who I was. You, however, have not and by running away from them, by hiding them away from those who you should be trusting with your very life, you are giving them power. Being a Faunus is not something to be ashamed of Blake, it in fact makes you physically superior to most humans. You should look at your bloodline with pride, not scorn. So why don't you?"

"Because of what I did!" she yelled, eyes showing self-hatred and anger. "I was a part of the White Fang almost my entire life! I took part in every rally, boycott, gathering, everything! When our old leader stepped down and a new one took its place things didn't change right away, all of us could see what was happening, what the Fang was being turned into." By now the golden eyed girl was openly crying, her tears falling on the ground. "He turned us into an army, a group of terrorist scum that proved everything that the anti-Faunus campaigns had preached in the past right about us. And the worst part? I _stayed_ with them. I followed my orders like a good little soldier and did everything I was asked. Unlike you, Anthony, I didn't have any remorse or regret killing innocent people." She looked down, shame written across her face. "How can I tell my team what I am? What I did? You were raised as a cold-blooded assassin, and yet you left your past and embraced your future. I'm still running away from my past, and I definitely don't see a clear future ahead for me." She dropped to her knees. "How do you do it? How do you live with yourself? How do I live with myself after all that I've done?"

For a moment, Anthony didn't say anything, only kneeling down to comfort the girl in front of him. "The truth is, I'm far from being fixed," Anthony admitted. "I'm still broken. I'm still trying to piece myself together. That's why I love my Semblance. It helps me focus on creating something, instead of destroying lives." He sighed. "But I manage to not let my past burden me. I've made mistakes, but the thing that helps me sleep at night is that I don't enjoy what I've done. I'm not the monster that my father and family tried to create. I can make my own decisions, and my decision is to be a Huntsman, and to be the best leader for Team AVHR that I can be." Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Do you regret what you've done?"

Blake nodded gently.

"Do you wish to continue what the White Fang are doing?"

Blake's head shook vehemently at that.

"Do you wish to stop them?"

A small nod was his answer.

He smiled. "Then that's all you need. It's not going to be easy, and it might take time, but know that I'll be there for you. As well as your team."

Blake didn't say anything, only held onto him as she cried. "Come on," Anthony finally said, helping her to her feet, "I'll call your team to let them know you're alright, but I think you need some time off. I'll rent us some rooms down in Vale for the night, and tomorrow we can start getting you to come to terms with who you are."

As Anthony helped her, neither noticed the blond monkey Faunus in a nearby tree, watching the seen before him in sadness.

 **XXX**

Anthony and Blake sat at a cafe, just talking with one another. It had been two days since Blake's revelation, and the two had taken to hanging out at a small hotel in Vale, trying to clear their minds. Anthony knew that he should tell his team and Team RWBY where they were, but decided to keep things private. He could tell that Blake felt the same way.

"So, you're going to go after the White Fang?" Anthony asked.

Blake nodded, a faraway look in her eyes. "I have to know... why the White Fang is doing this. Even if they did things that weren't right while I was there, I still believed that they were trying to do good. But now..."

Anthony nodded his head in understanding. Finally, he said, "So, I guess that you need a partner."

"You offering?" Blake asked, an eyebrow raised.

Anthony smiled. "It wouldn't do for me to leave a beautiful girl all alone on a mission." Seeing her deadpanned look, he sighed. "Fine, I'm trying to help you out because you're my friend. Happy?"

Blake smiled a little, satisfied. "Yes."

A waiter came, putting their food down on the table. Anthony had ordered an ice-cream sandwich, while Blake had ordered a tuna sandwich. Both of them enjoyed their meals in silence, mentally going over the plan in their heads.

"So, tonight?" Anthony queried.

Blake nodded. "Tonight."

"Can I join?" a voice asked, causing the both of them to jump and whirl to see the blonde Faunus from the docks, hanging upside down by his tail. He grinned, waving. "What's up?"

"How long have you been standing-uh, hanging there?" Blake asked, surprised.

The Faunus shrugged. "Up until the part where you two agreed to spy on the White Fang."

"Uh huh," Anthony nodded, frowning. "And you are..."

"Oh, right." Unwrapping his tail, he fell and landed on his feet. "Name's Sun Wukong! Nice to meet you!" He winked at Blake while shaking Anthony's hand.

"I'm Blake," the cat Faunus answered.

"Anthony. So, Sun. What brings you here?" Anthony asked.

"Eh, wanted to see what Vale's like. My team's not scheduled to come until after the two-week break, but I couldn't resist. It's not the first time I've done this," said Sun. "How do you know Blake?"

"She goes to my school, and I'm on good terms with her team. Well, most of them," Anthony said, frowning. "Now, why are you _really_ here?"

Sun hesitated at being caught. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I, uh... overheard your plan about the White Fang..."

"We got that," Blake said, eyes narrowing. "But why do you care?"

"Uh... I kind of... eavesdroppedon your conversation a few days ago..." He winced at the glares that he received. "It was an accident, I swear! I didn't mean to!"

"Didn't mean to eavesdrop on us pouring our pasts out to each other?" Anthony snarled, furious.

Sun flinched. "Like I said, I didn't mean too! I was just hanging around and overheard you guys. And since Blake is a fellow Faunus, I just... wanted to help."

Anthony made to continue, only to pause at seeing Blake put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine," she assured, though her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at Sun, who slightly whimpered. "I trust that Sun here isn't going to tell _anyone_ about our secrets without our permission. Right?"

"D-Definitely!" Sun nodded, scared shitless.

Anthony wasn't content, but managed to let it go. After their meal, the trio was walking down an ally.

"You sure we shouldn't contact our teammates?" Anthony asked, hands on his Scroll.

Blake shook her head. "I know we should, but I can't help but think about these recent robberies. The White Fang has never needed that much Dust before."

"What if they did?" asked Sun, his eyes widening. He turned to the both of them, "I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

"Huh," Anthony said, nodding in agreement. "Looks like your onto something, monkey boy."

Sun made to correct him, but looking at the furious look in Anthony's eyes, he relented. Guess he didn't forgive him for eavesdropping.

"In short, find the real perpetrators," summarized Blake. "Why couldn't you have just said that?"

Sun just shrugged at this. Wasn't his fault his thought process went that way.

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be," sighed Blake.

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about off loading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas," offered Sun.

"How huge?" asked Blake, her eyes narrowing.

"Huge. Big Schnee Company Freighter," answered Sun.

"Looks like we got our location," said Anthony. He was about to call the rest of their teams when Blake stopped him.

"Please. Don't tell them yet. I have to find out for myself first," pleaded Blake.

Anthony frowned, but agreed. "Fine. But if things go south, we're calling them immediately."

Blake nodded, content with that.

 **XXX**

It was night time, and Blake and Anthony were at the docks observing. Sun came in with some food, asking if he had missed anything. He offered them some food he stole and got glares back.

"Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" asked Blake.

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" shot back Sun, receiving an even angrier glare from Blake and Anthony. "Okay, too soon."

"Maybe you should've been a rat Faunus instead," Anthony mumbled. "Sneaky and dirty."

Sun glared at that, but didn't say anything. Suddenly, the wind started to blow around them, and they looked up to see a Bullhead flying around before descending to the ground in the middle of all the cargo containers. A ramp came forth, and White Fang soldiers walked out.

"Oh no," gasped Blake, hoping what she saw wasn't true.

"Is that them?" asked Sun. One of the grunts turned around, flashing the White Fang symbol to them. It was a red feral animal with three slash marks behind it.

"Yes... it's them.," said Blake sadly as the White Fang grunts started to obtain the cargo.

"I'm sorry," Anthony consoled, patting her on the shoulder.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" asked Sun.

Blake could only stare sadly at the scene, "No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." She closed her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she heard a new voice. Her vision zoomed into the newcomer to discover that he was human. She recognized him as Roman Torchwick from the news.

Anthony blinked. "It's that guy me and Ruby fought. What the hell is he doing with the White Fang?"

"Hey! What's the holdup?!" shouted Roman. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that," said Blake as she stood up, unsheathing Gambol Shroud from her sheath and walking off the edge of the roof they had been hiding.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" said Sun, alarmed, only to see her disappear.

"Knew there was a reason that I liked her," Anthony commented, seeing her disappear like a ninja. He quickly sent a message to Teams RWY and VHR, telling them to come to his location, weapons ready for battle.

"Come on," he said to Sun, the two of them jumping after Blake.

Blake had managed to sneak up behind Roman and held her blade at his neck. The White Fang reacted, pointing their guns and brandishing their weapons, but were surprised when she took off her bow to reveal that she herself was a Faunus. She questioned why they were aiding Roman when he told her that he was actually working with the White Fang on a certain operation. Blake tried to pry for more information when she was distracted by two more Bullheads flying over. Blake watched in horror at this sight. Roman, seeing her distracted, pointed his cane at her feet. The end of the cane's bottom flipped up, and Roman fired, sending Blake flying away in an explosion.

Blake was dazed by the sudden explosion but unhurt. Regaining her bearings, she quickly rolled out of Roman's shots. He kept firing, forcing her away. She did a few back flips before using her Semblance to get some more distance. She quickly ran for cover behind one of the cargo containers.

Roman made to shoot again, but had to dodge a swipe from Eclipse Cutter. Eyes wide, he turned to see Anthony. "You," he seethed, glaring.

"Miss me?" Anthony taunted, before raised his arms, bracelets suddenly forming on his wrists. Capsules popped open from it, wrist-mounted darts shooting out from them and heading towards Roman.

The criminal used his cane to deflect a few of them, but ended up barely dodging the rest. Suddenly, a banana peel landed on his head. He looked up in surprised just to see Sun dropkicking/stomping him on his face. Roman's head ended up on the floor as Sun did a couple flips before landing and turning around.

"Boo-yah!" he yelled out, grinning.

Roman slowly got back up, shaking off the concussion he just got. Soon, the Bullheads that had been hovering above them opened up, letting more White Fang members descend down, surrounding Sun.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" teased Roman as the White Fang members charged in. Suddenly, a crimson beam shot at one of them, punching through their head. The head exploded in a shower of slowly vaporized blood and brain matter. The shock from the violent attack allowed Anthony to intercept a couple of the White Fang members, his visor up.

"Move, dammit!" Anthony yelled out from where he was fighting them. Snapping himself from his shock, Sun took out his first victim. The second one was knocked out by his monkey tail slapping him hard, followed by a swift kick on the third one. After punching and kicking quite a few of them, he rolled under a sword slash before grabbing his weapon, a red staff with gold markings. He spun it around quite a few times, knocking the grunts out of commission before slamming his staff onto the floor, knocking out two of them while causing the third one to stumble, to which he quickly tripped him before flipping right over the grunts head and stomping him in the spine. With another flip, Sun sent the hapless grunt at Roman as a projectile.

Roman just groaned in frustration before aiming his cane and firing a shot, to which Sun blocked it by twirling his staff in front of him at high speeds. He suddenly ducked as Eclipse Cutter was sent sailing towards him. The sword was stabbed into the ground. Just as Roman was about to turn around, he was blindsided by a roundhouse kick, courtesy of Anthony.

"Gah! You are so annoying, you know that kid?!" Roman yelled out, seeing his hat fly away somewhere.

Anthony smirked, visor glowing. "I know." A red beam emitted from the visor, forcing Roman to roll away and causing the beam to punch through the ground.

"He's mine!" shouted Blake as she dropped in and attacked Roman as fast and furiously as she could.

However, even abusing her Semblance to launch attacks at all different angles, Roman showed them why he was the boss, and why he was feared in the underground crime city. He was initially surprised from the first hit, but managed to block the rest before attacking her, even landing a fist on her face, although that was once again dodged. It was when Roman stunned Blake by hitting her with the hook part of his cane did he land a few more hits before swiping his weapon downwards on her head, knocking her back. Sun came to intervene, switching his staff into two nunchaku, taking his own turn.

, and kicked Roman away. He started attacking with weapons, spinning them and firing shotgun rounds at Roman, while trying to bash him at the same time. Roman parried each attack, leaving Sun unable to get through his defense. Sun finally had enough, and after tossing his left one in the air, he spun, letting the right nunchaku hit first before catching the left one in his rotation and slamming it at Roman's weapon, leaving them both open. Blake took advantage of this and slashed at him, sending him flying backwards, leaving him wide open to Anthony's attack.

Moving like lightning, Anthony's form vanished, only reappearing a few feet away from the group. Slowly sheathing his sword, he saw Roman twitch, before yelling out in pain, sudden sword slashes appearing over his form, sending torn cloth and blood to fly through the air. He landed on the ground in a heap, still holding onto his cane. He groaned in pain, struggling to get up.

The teens made to advance on him, but he dropped something circular onto the ground. A sudden flash was produced when the object hit the ground, blinding the teens. "AAAH!" all three of them yelled out in pain from the light.

Roman managed to move away slowly, trying not to aggravate his wounds. Seeing a cargo container above the three, he chuckled, shooting the hooks off and sending the container falling.

Anthony's ears twitched at hearing the gunshot, along with the whooshing of air from above. Even when blinded, he was still left with four very sharp senses. Taking out Eclipse Cutter, he yelled, lightning running across the sword. He slashed upwards, cleanly cutting the container in half. The two pieces fell away by the sides.

Blake and Sun blinked rapidly, rubbing their eyes. Anthony's own vision was starting to slowly return.

"You're a real pain in the ass, kid!" Roman commented, scowling.

"It's all part of my infallible wit and charm!" Anthony yelled back, making the technology on his arms merge and cover his hands, creating two plasma cannons. He aimed the two of them at Roman.

The criminal mastermind's eyes widened. "Oh, shi-"

Two plasma blasts erupted from the cannons at high speeds, making Roman move out of the way quickly. A huge explosion - followed by a flash of light - occurred, catching the attention of the incoming Team RWY and VHR. The explosion quickly died down, revealing a destroyed dock, flames forming on the ground. Most of the cargo containers were scorched or slightly destroyed.

Blake and Sun gaped at the destruction caused. Anthony chuckled sheepishly, dismissing his cannons. "Uh, oops?"

A fair distance from them, Roman coughed, trying to get rid of the smoke. He took of his jacket that had flames on it. "Damn kid. Who the hell has cannons for weapons?" he muttered to himself silently, before trying to crawl away. No way was he going to deal with that kid.

"Whoa," said Ruby in awe, having finally arrived along with her team, as well as Team VHR. From the clearing smoke, she noticed Roman trying to sneak away. "Hey!" she called out, catching his attention.

"Why hello, Red! Isn't it past *cough* your bed time!" shouted Roman in a jovial manner as he waved at her, coughing from the smoke.

"Ruby, are these your friends?" asked a girl, pointing at the now running trio of teens.

"Penny, get back!" warned Ruby. However, this slight distraction cost her as Roman took a shot, blasting her back.

Yang saw this and roared out in anger as she charged at Roman.

The rest of the teams went to help Blake and the others. Penny was giving Roman a glare before walking forward. Ruby tried to stop her, but her reply was, "Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"

Anthony, Blake and Sun finally arrived, but paused at seeing Penny walk forward. "Get back!" Anthony yelled, plasma cannons forming on his hands again. He made to shoot, but was stopped by Blake. "No! You could hit the others as well!"

Anthony clicked his teeth, but dismissed his cannons.

Penny's backpack opened up revealing, a sword that had been folded up before it split into 10 swords. She ran in to fight, jumping from the rooftop they had been on.

Roman was busy fending off an enraged Yang. A few more Bullheads showed up, firing upon them all. Everyone ran to dodge and hide from the barrage. All but Penny, who made her swords block the bullets. Two more swords came out from her backpack, shooting into the wall before she suddenly flew back, dragging her swords along with her. Anthony finally realized that Penny was actually manipulating each sword with a string, like a puppet.

"Woah," Sun said in awe at the spectacle, Anthony sharing his awe.

The ten swords in front of Penny folded up as they rotated around Penny in a circle in front of her. She channeled her Aura, forming a green ball in front of her swords. Then, she leaned back and punched both hands forward, shooting out beams of laser that cut the Bullheads in half. White Fang members fell out of the ship in shock as the Bullheads split open. She then threw her swords at another Bullhead, trying to steal the cargo. The Bullhead was unable to move, and Penny brought it down hard.

Roman, taking advantage of everyone being distracted by Penny's attacks, got onto a Bullhead that had still been docked. Signaling the pilot, the Bullhead shot off before anyone could do anything.

"No, you don't!" Anthony yelled, _finally_ able to use his cannons again. Two plasma shots shot forward, trying to hit the flying Bullhead. Neither of them connected, however. The Bullhead managed to narrowly evade the blasts, allowing them to blow up in the air.

"These kids just keep getting weirder..." muttered Roman to himself as the Bullhead flew away, still shaken by the plasma blasts.

"Well, he got away," grumbled Yang. Anthony scowled, seeing his attacks do nothing. The police quickly arrived and detained all the White Fang members on the site. The rest of them was momentarily held up for a few questions before being released.

After they had been released, Weiss turned to Blake, who started to speak.

"Weiss, I want you to-" started Blake, but Weiss stopped.

"Enough," Weiss proclaimed, "I have to apologize for my attitude. I slipped back into a behavior I swore to kick off. As long as you're not part of the White Fang anymore, then I don't care about your past. Just... if something big like this comes up, you'll come to your teammates first. And not someone else."

Blake had to wipe a tear before agreeing. Ruby cheered, saying that Team RWBY was back together again. Everyone chuckled at this.

"Well, I'll be damned," Clint commented. "The stuck-up heiress apologising. Next thing you know, pigs will start flying."

"... There are such things as flying pigs?" Thor asked in confusion.

The rest of Team AVHR laughed at that, confusing Thor even more.

"Wait a minute, where's Penny?" asked Ruby suddenly, interrupting the laughter. She started looking around, noticing she had disappeared.

Everyone shrugged before they finally started to head back to Beacon, although Anthony frowned along the way. _That girl... she felt like a machine,_ he thought to himself. _Could she be an android or something? ... Nah, no way_. He dismissed the thought. As far as he knew, no one had the proper tech to build such a thing, except him. There was no way.

Penny was sitting inside a car, watching the group of friends gather to get ready to leave. She wanted to be with them, but protocols dictated that she had to obey her caretaker, who had come to pick her up.

"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city," lectured the driver as he started up the car.

"I know," said Penny sadly. She continued to gaze at the group. The driver noticed and sighed. "Penny, your time will come..." The car drove off in the opposite direction of where the group was headed to.

 **XXX**

Roman dragged himself into an abandoned warehouse and sighed. This robbery had not gone as planned, and he mostly blamed it on teaming up with the White Fang. Sure, the men that he had borrowed from Junior, an owner of a nightclub, were weak, but at least they got the job done. Granted, this heist had been on a larger scale with much higher risks.

"How very disappointing."

Roman whirled around to see a woman with long black hair and golden eyes with a red dress approaching him. He sighed as he saw it was Cinder. Behind her were her two lackeys, Emerald, a green haired girl with brown skin, and Mercury, a tall grey-haired male with pale skin.

After throwing a few words back and forth, Cinder and her two pawns were about to leave. Mercury, meanwhile, smiled thinly at hearing one particular detail from Roman. A silver-haired kid who could manipulate technology.

 _It's been so long. I wonder how our confrontation will go down,_ little brother, Mercury thought to himself with a sneer.

 **And finished. This... needed to come out soon. Sorry for the late update.**

 **So here, Anthony's past is revealed. I tweaked it a bit, so that him and Mercury were trained as assassins since they were little by their father and family members. It explains Anthony's skills and Mercury's choice of profession. And their childhood wasn't exactly... pleasant. Got to deal with Blake's revelation. Hope y'all liked it.**

 **No Guest reviews, which is... really interesting and weird. Meh, not complaining.**

 **If I didn't respond to your review, review again or PM me, and I'll get back to you. Thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story. Any queries, you know where to find me.**

 **Read and Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

All of the teams from Beacon headed towards their dorms, eager for some rest. As they did so, Anthony was mentally reviewing something that had been on his mind, ever since his fight with Torchwick.

 _That Penny girl..._ he noted, frowning slightly. _It felt like... she wasn't human. More machine-based. But how? Last I checked, no one but me could make fully functioning robots. Well, apart from Atlas._ Anthony snorted at thinking of those wannabe scientists. They were chumps compared to him.

He hopped onto his bed, snuggling into his pillow. Sleep entered his mind as he was swept up in his dreams.

 **XXX**

With the end of the first semester, Teams RWBY, JNPR and AVHR decided to celebrate by going on several shopping sprees. Unsurprisingly, Yang, Weiss and Anthony were the ones who had spent the most Lien on different things, mainly clothes and weapons. They were able to afford it all due to different reasons; Weiss due to her being rich, Yang because of begging and pleading towards Weiss, and Anthony having saved up a lot of money due to his past _activities._ When asked, he quickly dodged the question, only Blake knowing the real reason why.

Over the next couple of weeks, all three teams had bonded quite well. Each team helped give pointers when needed. Ruby and Anthony got slightly better at hand-to-hand combat, Yang was taught not to let her anger get the best of her (which was a work in progress. Anthony could attest to that, having accidentally cut off a piece of her hair, and thus suffering the consequences), Pyrrha trained to not rely mainly on her Semblance, cautioned to only use it in very intense spars or against enemies, Nora got tips from Thor about how to better control her powers and hammer, etc.

The biggest improvement, however, was with Jaune. He took his training with the shield Anthony had given him very seriously, and was even seen studying the history of Captain Vale intensely. Anthony couldn't give him tips on how to properly use a shield in combat, as he didn't know how to properly wield it. He did, however, suggest going to Professor Port for advise, since the man claimed to be a great Huntman, so it'd be interesting to put that claim to the test.

Along with that, Jaune was forced to learn everything that he had needed to come into Beacon. He eventually admitted that he had forged his transcripts to get into Beacon. And while Teams NPR and AVHR were largely supportive or indifferent about the whole thing, it was with Team RWBY that the differing opinions showed. Ruby was alright with it, not bothered at all. Yang didn't really care. Blake just noted that it made sense as to why his performance was so poor initially. It was Weiss that was the problem. While she had learned to curb some of her... difficult traits, she had insulted the blonde quite a bit for his poor performance, and was wondering why Ozpin even allowed Jaune in, seeing as to how he seemingly didn't know about all of this.

Weiss was quickly shot down from the others, saying that Ozpin likely knew of this, and allowed Jaune in anyway. At that, Weiss shut her mouth, promptly apologising to Jaune for her rudeness, with the blonde waving it away with a smile.

Soon, it was the last day of the break. Teams RWBY, JNPR and AVHR were eating at the cafeteria. Blake was in her own little world, a few sketches littering her part of the table. It was only when she snapped out of her thoughts that she took notice of what she was drawing: a picture of an important person from her past, Adam Taurus.

She frowned. It still hurt her heart to leave her first love, but she found that she didn't regret it. While she would always look at her memories of her time in the White Fang with fondness, she was happy where she was. With all of her friends. Still, that didn't stop her from obsessing over each and every detail of the White Fang that she could find. She had even spent several sleepless nights in the library, scouring several of its books.

A hand on Blake's shoulder brought her from her thoughts, making her look to see Anthony was the one doing it. He gave her a small smile, one that she returned.

"Well, well!" Yang spoke loudly, interrupting the others as she stared at the two. "Looks like Tech Boy has moved onto our resident ninja!"

"And your ability to kill a mood with your words strikes again, Firecracker," Anthony muttered, rolling his eyes as Blake copied his actions.

"She has a point, though," Clint commented, smiling as he ate his lunch. "What, was Pyrrha not enough for you? And here I thought that you enjoyed your date with her."

Anthony coughed a little, doing his best to ignore Pyrrha's slightly jealous look and the shocked faces of the others. "Shut it, Robin Hood."

"Ooh, so defensive," Yang teased, grinning at him. "I thought you were a little player, player."

"Yang, if you're so jealous of not being my centre of attention, I can quickly rectify that," Anthony grinned.

"Aren't you a charmer?" the blonde retorted, fluttering her eyes. "But, you think you can handle me?"

"What, scared?" the technopath responded, smirking slyly.

"Oh, honey. Fear is definitely not what's in my mind right now."

"Ahem!" Ruby coughed, interrupting the byplay. "Hey, we're eating here!" she retorted, chomping into a cookie that magically appeared out of nowhere.

"Yes," Pyrrha agreed, frowning heavily. "You guys can talk later, somewhere else." _Or not at all,_ she mentally added, jealousy bubbling in her gut.

"Chillax, P-money," Yang smiled. "We're just having a little fun. No need to be jealous that I'm so good at getting attention."

"Hardly," Anthony scoffed, making the blonde narrow her eyes at him.

"Oh? So you're saying that I'm not pretty enough?" she questioned, cracking her knuckles as incentive for Anthony's correct answer.

"That's not what I said, firecracker," the technopath snorted. "Just don't flatter yourself. You're hardly eye-catching."

"Um, Anthony?" Blake questioned, seeing Yang's eyes switch from lilac to a burning red. "Maybe you should quit while you're at it."

Clint scoffed. "And here I thought you were some sort of ladies' man. Yet you can't even calm a girl down."

"Shut it, Robin Hood," Anthony hissed, looking warily at the increasingly angry girl.

"That's it!" Yang stood up, slamming her hands on the table and creating indents on it. All of the trays rose from the force. "You and me! Tonight, 8PM! I'll show you that I'll knock your socks off!"

Anthony smirked, standing up and staring into Yang's fiery eyes. "See ya there, firecracker." With that, he walked off, but not before looking smugly at Clint. "See? _That's_ how you get a girl to do the work for you, and get yourself a date. Toodles!" He then walked off, a grin on his face.

 **XXX**

"I really don't think that this is a good idea, Yang," Ruby warned, seeing her sister pack all the supplies needed for tonight.

"Well, too bad," the blonde grumbled. "That little poser thinks that he can insult me and get away with it?! I'll show him! I'll leave him so stunned that he won't even know what's coming!"

"Aren't you just playing into his hands?" Weiss asked, sitting on her bed and reading a book. She looked up, annoyed at Yang's yelling. "And can you keep it down?! Some of us are trying to read here!"

Yang scoffed. "No, I'm not," she responded, ignoring the last part. "I've been at this thing longer than he has! The only claims he can hold is going on that date with Pyrrha! Just wait till I show that little punk up!"

"How long will you be gone?" Ruby asked, knowing that Yang wouldn't back down. "You know that Professor Goodwitch will kill you guys if you don't get back past curfew."

"Little sis." Yang turned to pat her on the head. "It's Friday. The night's not even here. And besides, I think we're both able to take on anything that comes our way."

"That's not what I meant," Ruby sighed. "You know what? Just go, but… don't do anything stupid."

"Why?" Yang grinned. "Worried I'm going to take away your little friend for myself?"

Ruby blushed brightly. "T-That's not it! S-Shut up!"

Yang laughed, ignoring Ruby's spluttering denials. Weiss rolled her eyes while Blake had headphones connected to her Scroll as she read a book on her bed. She was so glad to be ahead of the game, knowing how loud Team RWBY's dorm room got when all of its members were present.

 **XXX**

Anthony whistled as he and Yang walked towards the club she had informed him about. "So this is the place that you talked about bringing me to earlier," he commented, smirking. "You take all the guys you butter up here, or am I just special?"

"Shut it before I boot you out," the blonde growled. The two walked inside, the technopath noticing that many of the staff there glared at Yang, making him note that maybe she had some issues with them whenever she came over. This became evident when the man at the bar reeled back, as if expecting something bad to happen. He was exceptionally tall, and wore a black vest over a white dress shirt, a red tie, black gloves and black dress pants. He had grey eyes, short black hair, along with a matching beard and moustache.

"Blondie," he grunted. "Do I want to know why you're here?"

"Just for a drink," Yang chirped. "Don't worry, Junior. I won't destroy anything. Promise."

"Right," he responded sarcastically. He looked towards Anthony with a sort of pitying gaze. "And you even roped in an innocent soul into this? I pity him if he doesn't know your behaviour 'round here."

"I was even forcefully brought here against my will, all to prove a point," Anthony supplied helpfully, a false sad look on his face. "All I asked was that she be gentle with me, but she wouldn't take no for an answer."

Junior nodded sympathetically, playing along. "Trust me, kid. She's always been like this. Can't even get a date without grabbing them by the balls. Literally."

"Oh, she do that to you?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, yeah."

"I can hear your 'whispering'," Yang butted in, growling.

"Who's whispering?" the two males asked as one, making a tick mark appear on her forehead.

"... Just get the drinks, before I go back on my word," Yang threatened, fist clenched with fury.

Junior quickly nodded, knowing that she would. "S-So, what will it be?"

"Two strawberry sunrises," she ordered. "No ice."

The man reluctantly went to mix the drink. Anthony noted the short interaction between the two. "So, you got a story with him?"

"Why? Want to mock me again?" Yang retorted, shooting him a small glare.

"If I wanted to mock you, I'd be less subtle about it." He rolled his eyes. "I'm being serious."

Yang looked at him, then spoke. "We've got some... past history."

"I can see that," Anthony retorted, making her glare at him again. "What kind of history?"

So Yang spoke about event back before Beacon Academy. How she'd been looking for someone (who she wouldn't give a name on) and came here because Hei Xiong, or Junior, knew all the talk in the city of Vale, or so she'd thought. He didn't know anything, and she'd destroyed the club.

Anthony shook his head once he had heard the whole story. "Only you. Only you can trash an entire club after not getting the information that you want."

"Oi!" Yang yelled, making the others in the crowd jump and look at her warily. "This person was important to me! And I was pissed!"

"Oh, wow. What else is ne- Ow!" He rubbed his arm where Yang had punched. "That was uncalled for!"

"I beg to differ," Yang responded, smirking as she flipped back some of her hair. "Serves you right."

Anthony was about to retort, but paused as he heard music being turned on. He looked towards the dance floor in interest.

"What? You wanna step up to the dance floor?" Yang laughed. "Oh, this'll be good. Can't wait to see you crash and burn."

"You-" Anthony responded, but was interrupted by the sound of glass tinkling nearby. This caused them both to turn and see the two drinks set before them. Junior set the bill between the two and left them to their own devices, but still kept an eye on them just the same.

The two began to drink away, Anthony enjoying the sweet taste. It definitely wasn't the strongest that he had had, but it was nice nonetheless. "Oi, Junior! Pass me another one!" he called out, raising his empty glass.

Junior rolled his eyes. "Fine. But make sure that you don't drink too much that you can't carry your sorry asses out of here." He went to the back, returning with more strawberry sunrises, Yang joining in on his drinking.

"Whoo!" Anthony exclaimed, slamming his seventh cup on the counter. "That's some good shit."

"You're telling me," Yang agreed, a flush of red appearing on her cheeks. She looked at Anthony, grinning. "Want me to school you in a drinking contest?"

Anthony was about to reply when he heard the music change, and all sorts of people started to join in at the dance floor. "You like dancing, Yang?" he asked instead.

"Yeah," Yang said immediately. "Why, you wanna dance?"

"Uh-huh." Anthony stood up, jumping on the balls of his feet. "Feel like the alcohol's getting me in the mood."

"Cool," she responded, standing straight. "You any good?"

"We'll see," he responded. Together, the two of them stepped onto the dance floor. It was crowded, and it took them a minute to find a decent spot that afforded enough room to actually make a few moves. Once a new song started, the two of them began to dance. Yang noted that Anthony was actually a decent dancer. He wasn't perfect, but then again, who was?

His movements were smooth and natural, like it was second-nature to him. His footwork was phenomenal as he switched it up every now and then. His expression surprised Yang, as he had a slightly expression, which was clouded by a small joy at being able to dance. Yang was actually finding herself challenged by someone who could match her in skill on the dance floor.

As they danced, each of them noticed something. For the first time, Yang actually took the time to look into his eyes. They were a sapphire-blue, and seemed so guarded and closed-off that she was initially surprised. She was no expert, but she could tell that he was hiding something. Something painful, given the slowly fading expression of sadness on his face. Yet, she could also read off other things; mischievousness, a sharp intelligence, arrogance, hope, and slight happiness. It was a shock, considering that she had considered him as nothing more than an arrogant womanizer, who just so happened to be friends with her sister.

Anthony too looked into Yang's lilac eyes, and like her, he could read her in that instant. She was passionate, a badass fighter, determined, stubborn, and confident. Those were the obvious things. However, if one looked closer, there was also something else there, and Anthony felt like he was looking in a mirror.

There was pain in her eyes. It was well hidden, but Anthony could still see it.

At that moment, there was an understanding between them. They didn't say anything. They didn't express any emotion, other than a strange calmness after looking at each others' eyes. Something that they also noticed; there was practically no space between them. Their breaths felt hot against their faces, and their bodies were pressed against each other. Anthony blushed a little. Sure, he was a flirt, but he'd never been so close to a woman before. Yang also had a similar blush on her face, having no experience in the matter at hand.

As all of this processed, they separated, suddenly feeling shy. "G-Good dancing," Yang blurted out, eager to be rid of the awkwardness between them.

"Yeah. Y-You too," Anthony responded, rubbing his neck. "So, ah..."

"Y-You wanna go home?" Yang asked suddenly, getting some of her spring back.

"Sure," he responded. Checking his miniaturized Scroll that looked like a watch, he realised that the two of them had spent so much time outside that the last airship to Beacon was long gone. And he forgot to bring his armour with him, seeing as he didn't think it was necessary. He _could_ try and recall it to him via his Scroll, but then he also realised that he had had Arsenal lock it away, to keep the others from tampering with it.

"Uh, Yang," Anthony said. "Think getting back to Beacon will be much harder than we thought."

"Why?" the brawler asked, confused.

"The last airship to Beacon left an hour ago," he reported. "We'll have to wait till morning to get back. And I had my armour locked, so there's no chance of recalling it to us here."

"What?!" Yang exclaimed, looking slightly panicked. "Seriously?!" She noticed the Scroll on his arm and grabbed his wrist forcefully to see what time it was. When she saw it, she hissed. "Damn it!"

She started to pace around the dance floor, everyone knowing of Yang's reputation that she'd explode if angered. "This is bad," Yang began to ramble. "This is really bad. Ruby's going to be so pissed when I get back. Weiss'll probably lecture my ears off. Blake… I don't know what she'll do, but it can't be good."

Watching the normally calm and collected Yang go into a state of panic left Anthony frowning. They were stuck here for the night, and once they got back, there would no doubt be a really annoying welcoming from both of their teams. Clint would probably laugh his ass off, Bruce would say 'I told you so'. Thor would probably just slap him on the back... which would have him sent flying.

Yeah, not a greeting that he wanted to receive from his team. But that wasn't important now. What was important was finding a place to call home for the night.

Anthony frowned, trying to think of a place to crash. Then, his eyes lit up. He tapped his Scroll, scrolling through several satellite listings of nearby apartments.

"What are you doing?" Yang asked, slightly breaking out of her panicked state.

"I have several safe houses stored around Vale," Anthony replied, still combing over the data. "For me to get away from Beacon for a while, or maybe for some peace and quiet. There should be one not too far- Aha!" He stopped at the satellite of a safe house. "Got one. It's roughly a couple of miles from here, but it'll work."

"How many safe houses do you even have?" the blonde asked, confused as to why someone would even have a single one in the first place.

"Two or three," he responded, looking at her with a grin. "Let's go."

 **XXX**

It was late in the night by the time Anthony and Yang got to where they were supposed to be going. Yang wasn't exactly sure where in the world they were going, but Anthony seemed to know what he was doing, and so she had no choice but to trust him.

"Are we there yet?" Yang asked for what seemed to be the fifteenth time. Anthony would chalk it down to her being annoying, but he could tell that she was just worried that he was either lying, or leading her to a dead end.

He sighed, holding his irritation in. "Around the corner."

Once they did turn the corner, they came upon identical apartment buildings that stretched out to the end of the street. Yang's eyes looked left and right. There was no one around, no life whatsoever.

Anthony reached into his pocket, bringing out a set of keys on him. He was so glad that he hadn't told the other members of Team AVHR that he had safe houses. While he enjoyed being with his teammates, they were a bit much as it was. He didn't want them trashing his houses.

"Yang," Anthony called out, turning towards the busty blonde. "Over here."

Yang was shaken from her thoughts and quickly followed him as he unlocked the door to one of the apartments. When he flicked the lights on, he turned to watch her, still on the front steps. He rolled his eyes. "Well? Come on in."

She hesitated, feeling slightly wary. Despite the silent heart-to-heart they had in the club, she still didn't trust Anthony properly. Of her team members, she knew that he was more closer to Ruby than all of them, with Blake suddenly being a close second. And while she appreciated the gesture, she still couldn't shake off the weirdness of this whole thing.

Nevertheless, she followed Anthony inside, shutting the door and looking around. The apartment was quite small, fit for one or two people. The main living room was arranged simply, the kitchen had the necessary essentials, and the floors had several mats covering it. All in all, it was quite bland. "You sure know how to welcome a guest," she retorted sarcastically.

Anthony rolled his eyes. "I had this for me and me alone. Stop bitching."

Yang continued inspecting the house, not seeing any pictures. "Geez, I know this isn't your actual home, but you could at least put up a couple of pictures of your family or something." She turned to Anthony, who had a stony look on his face. Suddenly, she realised what she had said, and then clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Oh. I-I'm sorry," she quickly apologised. Guess she understood why he hid his pain in his eyes. Like her. "I-I didn't mean-"

"You didn't know," Anthony responded coldly, voice emotionless. Yang flinched at the sound. "It's fine."

It was silent between the two, trying to formulate their words in their heads. Yang desperately tried to think of something she could say. Something to break the tension and awkwardness between the two. Suddenly, a thought came to her mind.

"I..." She mentally prepared herself to tell her story. "I-I can tell that... that you have a bad experience with family. But that's okay!" She facepalmed. "Okay, not what I meant. I mean that... I can somewhat relate."

Anthony turned to look at her. Then he walked towards the couch in the living room. Yang's face fell, thinking that he was too mad at her to listen. It was only when Anthony sat down did he turn to look at her, patting the space next to him.

She smiled a little, walking up to take a seat next to him to continue. "My m-mother..." A frown came upon her face as she spoke. "She left when I was very young. She left my dad, Ruby... me. She left us. All alone. Dad was devastated. He did his best not to show it, but it hurt him. I..." Here Yang teared up a little. "I ignored his warnings about trying to find her. I-I took Ruby with me, so that we both could find her. I was stupid. We nearly died, by a pack of Grimm that would've killed us.

"When we were saved, I blamed myself for what I did. If I had only listened to my dad, then me and Ruby wouldn't have been put into that situation. I-I even had another mum in the form of Summer, Ruby's own mum. But... she died. Dad wouldn't tell any of us. T-Then I was all alone again."

Tears fell from her eyes as she recalled her story. A hand was placed on her shoulder, making her look to Anthony and smile lightly. He had a look of understanding on his face. As well as a look of... longing?

"I know this may make me sound like a dick," he spoke, smiling with no humour. "But at least you had two parent figures in your life. So hey, you traded one parent away for two. Fair deal, ain't it?" He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm not ready to tell you my whole past. But..." He grunted, trying to continue. "My... father was an abusive asshole. He had this whole illegal family business thing going on, which everyone followed. I was sort of the black sheep, the one who rebelled against it and did my best to isolate myself from it.

"Thing is, it's like a sickness. We can try to escape it, we can dread it, we can even hate ourselves for it, but eventually, you find yourself sucked in. Slowly killing you from the inside. Until you're nothing but a husk. It caught all of my family." Anthony's fists clenched tightly. "Including my older brother."

Yang's eyes widened at that. She didn't think that he'd have an older brother. Then again, she knew nothing about him, and was only getting the full story now.

"He usually helped my father in 'disciplining' me," he hissed out, making Yang flinch slightly. "Always berated me for rejecting his teachings. Always destroying any of my inventions whenever I showed him them, always saying that they were useless and that I should focus on training instead." Anthony chuckled a little. "Looks like he inherited dad's stick that got shoved up his ass."

Yang giggled a little, the tense atmosphere slightly broken. "Hopefully, it didn't _branch_ itself anywhere as he grew older," she joked, the terrible pun leaving Anthony silent for a moment. He then chuckled, and then laughed at the joke. He looked at her. "That was terrible."

"It made you laugh, didn't it?" she questioned, smiling.

"Yeah, because it was so stupid that it was funny. Seriously, you have a list of shitty puns that-"

Without any warning, Yang grabbed his face and shoved it towards hers, catching him in a lip-lock. Anthony's eyes went wide as he kissed her, her lips simply pressing themselves against his. He was confused, wanting to pull back, to question her, to yell, to do _something._

Instead, Anthony decided to go with the flow. He held Yang's own face as he deepened the kiss, making the blonde moan a little. Both silently agreed to go simple, as they had no idea why this was happening.

They separated to get air, their gasps harsh and sudden. Both of them looked to each other for signs of disgust, betrayal, anger, hatred, anything that would indicate this was an undesirable course of action.

They found none of that.

Smiling, Anthony went forward, kissing Yang again, only this time more rougher than before. He reached out to grab her hair, but then paused, knowing that doing so would interrupt the moment. His hand veered towards her waist, gripping tightly as he pushed her down, deciding whether he should stare at her heaving chest or face.

"Why?" Anthony asked simply, though she managed to get the meaning behind the word.

"I don't know," she answered, panting.

With that, Anthony leaned down, straddling her as they kissed again. At that moment, there was no need for words of comfort anymore. They had already found comfort in the kiss that they shared.

 **Okay, now I need to explain myself.**

 **1) Why I haven't updated in the last few days? Well, exams finished, and I got Devil May Cry 5. 'Nuff said. ... No, really, nothing needs to be said.**

 **2) Why it's been a long, long while since I've updated this story? Other stories had to be updated. A weak excuse, but one nonetheless.**

 **3) Why this chapter was a little short? Just came back and made this on the spot, as I'm hoping to continue my marathon of DMC5 and hopefully be successful.**

 **4) Why no lemon? There isn't one because I didn't want one to be here. I wanted Anthony and Yang to try talking, and then kissing as an outlet to sort their own personal problems. Sex is one way, but a) it's too early, and b) I wanted to keep the confused, somewhat sombre atmosphere. That'd change if a lemon was included.**

 **Now, with those points out of the way, Guest review time:**

 **i) True, and good points.**

 **ii) I'll consider the points, as they are good suggestions.**

 **iii) Thank you.**

 **Now, Imma leave y'all to your own devices while I go back on my marathon and camp in my room. Thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story.**

 **Peace!**

 **(P.S. - This is just to make the chapter bigger. No point in reading this bit at all. If you did... HAHAHAAHAHA!**

 **Okay, I'm done.)**


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